Sea surface temperatures in the North Indian tropical cyclone basin as of June 22, courtesy of Accuweather.
Is a repeat of Cyclone Gonu--now estimated to have caused $ 6 billion in damage to Oman and Iran (actually much less than worst case scenarios would have predicted)--possible in the coming week? Over the past half week, a tropical cyclone known only as 03B developed in the Bay of Bengal and quickly moved ashore over the Indian subcontinent before it could intensify much. Still, meteorology blogger Margie Keiper writes that the associated precipitation contributed to the deaths of hundreds in India and Pakistan. And now, the thick cloud cluster has moved back out over water, into the warm Arabian Sea, which fostered Gonu just under a month ago. Here's the latest satellite image from the Indian Meteorological Department:
Yesterday, Accuweather's Jim Andrews wrote of his concern that 03B has potential to become a major tropical cyclone in the Arabian Sea, and added, "based upon numerical forecasts, it is safe to say that this storm holds serious destructive potential, especially for southern Pakistan, but also for southeastern Iran." I'm no expert and no forecaster, but this is one to watch, certainly....and even if it doesn't develop, it seems certain to rain a lot somewhere.
