Bloggers predict cyclone next week, but weatherman unsure

A cyclonic storm may be brewing over the Bay of Bengal, near Sri Lanka, according to city weather bloggers.

According to Keaweather bloggers, the weather models pointed to the possibility of a cyclone but it was not clear if the storm would originate near Chennai.

The meteorological department, however, refused to shed any light on the development and said it was too early to predict anything. They ruled out the possibility of a cyclone in the next few days.

K. Ehsan Ahmed, who has developed the website

>www.kea.metsite.com , said a system over the Bay of Bengal was expected to develop into a depression leading to a cyclone by Thursday or Friday.

“We may get a better picture by next week. Even if it rains in Chennai, it is likely to happen only next weekend. Right now, it looks like the cyclone will head to Bangladesh or Orissa. We cannot, however, rule out a landfall somewhere between the coasts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh,” he said.

However, officials of the meteorological department said there was no possibility of a low pressure development over the next few days.

S.R. Ramanan, director of Area Cyclone Warning Centre, said that sometimes, such systems did not develop into low-pressure areas. There is, however, some cloud cover about 250 km west of Chennai, he said. “We are studying the weather models to see if it will bring rain to the city,” he said.

The interior parts of the State are receiving showers due to convective activity.

The meteorological department has forecast thunderclouds in the evening or night in the city on Sunday and Monday.