Cyclone Phet threatening the Indian and Pakistani coastlines
By ANIWednesday, June 2, 2010
WASHINGTON - Tropical cyclone 03A has intensified quickly in the last 24 hours, and as a result, the storm has been renamed Tropical Storm Phet. Phet is located in the Arabian Sea, Northern Indian Ocean, and is threatening the Indian and Pakistani coastlines, NASA satellite imagery has claimed.
NASA’s Aqua satellite flew over Tropical Storm Phet on June 1 at 9:11 UTC (5:11 EDT) and captured an infrared image of the cloud top temperatures. The image indicated large areas of high, cold cloud tops, as cold as -63 degrees Fahrenheit, indicating strong convection.
At 1500 UTC (11 a.m. EDT) on June 1, Tropical Storm Phet had maximum sustained winds near 55 knots (62 mph) with higher gusts. Phet was located about 550 miles south-southwest of Karachi, Pakistan, near 16.8 North and 62.2 East. Phet is moving to the northwest near 6 knots (7 mph).
Current landmasses threatened by Phet include: India (Gujarat), Pakistan (Sindh and Balochistan).
Phet is forecast to continue strengthening and turn northeast later this week. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center forecasts landfall by the end of the week in the border area between India and Pakistan.
Regional warnings are already in effect for the Indian and Pakistani coastlines from Thursday on. The Indian Meteorological Department’s Regional Specialized Meteorological Center noted on June 1, “Under the influence of this system, fairly widespread rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy falls would commence over coastal areas of Gujarat from June 3 and increase thereafter. Squally winds with speed reaching 55-65 kmph (34-40 mph) (with higher gusts) would commence along and off Gujarat coast from June 2 and increase gradually.” (ANI)
