Cyclone Montha’s Projected Path Captured in Latest Satellite Imagery
Tropical storm ‘Montha’ has intensified into a severe cyclonic storm. It is centered around 15°N and 82.5°E, about 250 km southeast of Kakinada. The storm is moving north-northwestward at a speed of about 12 km/h and heading toward the Andhra Pradesh coastline. It is likely to make landfall between Kakinada and Machilipatnam, close to but south of Kakinada, in the late evening hours. The landfall process will take more than two hours to complete and may extend beyond this timeline.
The cyclonic storm is positioned over the deep ocean, with very warm sea surface temperatures conducive to maintaining its strength. However, the system lies in a marginally favorable environment due to increased vertical wind shear. As the storm nears the coast, dry air entrainment into its core is likely, which may weaken it before landfall. The cyclone currently has borderline severe intensity, with wind speeds of 90–95 km/h. In this category, wind speeds range between 89–117 km/h. Landfall is expected past 12 GMT (1730 hrs) in the late evening. Regardless of its exact strength and category at landfall, utmost caution must be exercised, as strong gale-speed winds and blinding rains pose a serious threat.
The areas at higher risk over Coastal Andhra Pradesh include Vizag, Kakinada, Tuni, Narsapur, Machilipatnam, Nellore, Bapatla, and Ongole. Other regions such as East & West Godavari, Eluru, Konaseema, and Rajahmundry are also likely to experience stormy conditions with howling winds and torrential rains. The storm will weaken rapidly after landfall and move toward the junction of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh. Districts such as Ganjam, Gajapati, Malkangiri, and Koraput in Odisha will also face severe weather.
Montha is the first cyclone of the year over the Bay of Bengal. The Bay typically witnesses cyclones around this time of year. Last year, severe cyclonic storm ‘Dana’ struck Dhamra Port in Odisha on 24–25 October 2024. In 2023, tropical cyclones Hamoon and Midhili hit Bangladesh, while cyclone Michaung battered the coastline between Nellore and Machilipatnam during the post-monsoon season.
