Tropical cyclone to hit soon, followed by heavy rains and winds

The weather reports have informed that a tropical cyclone is to hit soon, which will be followed by heavy rains and strong winds.

Weathermen are tracking a potentially powerful tropical cyclone spotted near Socotra off Yemen barreling up the Arabian Sea towards the Arabian Peninsula.

The cyclone, predicted to hit the region in the next two days, is expected to bring heavy rain and strong winds but will not affect the UAE, the National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) said on Tuesday.

Due to a tropical depression in the south-east of Arabian Sea, the storm was expected to develop in the next 24 hours.

The predicted path of the cyclone does not touch the UAE, though the country might witness heavy winds and clouds in the southern and eastern parts, the forecaster added.

Though no dramatic change is expected in the path of the cyclone, the NCM is observing it round the clock to see if there will be any change in its direction towards the UAE, according to weathermen.

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Signal #02

On Tuesday, May 22, satellite images show the trajectory of the tropical cyclone, which is expected to make landfall in southern Yemen on Friday, May 25.  

At 5.30pm Dubai time on Tuesday, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) operated by the US military and based in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, identified the tropical cyclone by the codename “02A”.

The JTWC gave a warning signal #02, which suggests the tropical cyclone is likely to develop within 24 hours.

A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure centre, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain.

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Don’t spread rumours

As of now, there is no need for any concern regarding the storm and residents should refrain from spreading rumours, the officials cautioned.

Some reports on social media had warned the UAE residents of a storm hitting the country on Wednesday and Thursday. 

Based on that, some social media users called on the NCM “to educate people about it in case something serious happens in order to avoid what happened during Cyclone Gonu”.

The strongest tropical cyclone to hit the Arabian Peninsula, “Gonu” had devastated the coast of Oman and killed at least 12 in the sultanate and three in Iran in June 2007.

When another cyclone lashed again in May 2009, it left at least 35 killed in both those countries and also battered the east coast of the UAE.

However, UAE officials rebutted the social media reports and urged residents not to spread such rumours.

“If there is any need for taking any precautions, we will issue alerts regarding that,” said a senior meteorologist.