No direct impact on Oman due to tropical system over Arabian Sea

Muscat: A tropical depression system developing over the Arabian Sea will not have any direct impact on Oman, the Civil Aviation Authority has said.

In a statement issued by the government body, it said the depression was located off the western coast of India, at a position of 70.7 degrees east, and 17.8 degrees north, with the surface wind speed around its centre estimated to be between 17 and 25 knots.

“The system will move in a westward direction towards the centre of the Arabian Sea,” said the CAA’s National Multi-Hazard Early Warning Centre, which “continues to monitor all updates of this tropical weather event, and the Civil Aviation Authority advises the public to follow its latest weather bulletins and reports.”

Fresh updates on the development of this tropical depression will be provided regularly. An update on the condition of the tropical depression was issued by the Civil Aviation Authority on Saturday.

It said: “The tropical depression continues to move westward towards the middle of the Arabian Sea, and the wind speed around the centre is estimated at 15 to 27 knots, without any direct effects on the Sultanate’s atmosphere during the next three days.”

People are requested to not venture out to sea, as conditions on the water are expected to be rough, with waves reaching heights of between 2.5 and four metres.

An update issued at 9pm Oman time by the United States Joint Typhoon Warning Center on 16 October said the tropical depression was “approximately 140 nautical miles southwest of Mumbai, India. Animated enhanced infrared (EIR) satellite imagery and a 161631z METOP-B 89 GHz satellite image depict a partially-exposed low level circulation with flaring convection sheared over the western semicircle.
“Upper level analysis indicates unfavourable (15-20 knot) vertical wind shear partly offset by good divergence aloft,” added the centre, which falls under the US Navy’s Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command.

Weather models show this depression will “intensify slightly as it tracks westward towards the Arabian Peninsula,” added the JTWC. “Maximum sustained surface winds are estimated at 20 to 25 knots. Minimum sea level pressure is estimated to be near 1001 millibars. The potential for the development of a significant tropical cyclone within the next 24 hours remains medium.”