Close on heels of Cyclone Gulab over Bay of Bengal, last Sunday, another tropical storm is likely on the other side of the coast this time. Cyclonic storm Shaheen is likely to form in the next 24hr over Northeast Arabian Sea.
Factually, the remnant of cyclone Gulab travelled across parts of Maharashtra and Gujarat over the last 48hr. This weather system gave copious rains across these 2 states for the last 3 days.
The remnant of Gulab, as a low pressure has intensified in to a depression, centered about 70km east-southeast of Naliya (Kutch). It is likely to intensify further in to deep depression first and into Cyclone Shaheen later over Northeast Arabian Sea. The cyclone will keep drifting westward, nearly parallel to the Makran coast of Pakistan and Iran.
Due to proximity of land, this storm may not intensify much. There is no threat from this cyclone to the Indian coastline. The storm will have a life span of about 3 days before it dies down over sea itself due to cold waters and entrainment.
It is not very common to have tropical storms in quick succession over the Indian Seas. Two storms within a week is an exception. It is a consequence of short sea travel, both for Gulab and Shaheen. Prior to this , during pre monsoon season this year, pair of storm formed in quick succession on either side of the coastline.
An extremely severe cyclonic storm Tauktae ( 14-19May 2021) struck Gujarat coast near Una (Diu). Another very severe cyclonic storm, Yaas (23-28May 2021) made landfall near Balasore (Odisha). In the year 2020 also, Super Cyclone Amphan (Kolkata) and severe cyclonic storm Nisarga (Mumbai) struck with in a short span of 10 days.
