A powerful weather system over the Bay of Bengal that made landfall in Odisha on Dashami (Thursday) evening has stalled the withdrawal of the southwest monsoon from mainland India, the Met office said.
Calcutta received widespread rainfall on Dashami but was spared a washout. The monsoon currents remain active, and the coming week is expected to bring more rain across Bengal. In Calcutta, light to moderate showers are forecast, interspersed with sunny spells.
The system began as a low-pressure area over the central Bay of Bengal on Wednesday. It quickly intensified into a well-marked low-pressure area, then into a depression, and eventually a deep depression, just one step short of being classified a cyclone.
It made landfall around 5pm on Thursday near Gopalpur, bringing wind speeds of up to 75kmph, said a Met bulletin.
After landfall, the storm began to weaken and had downgraded to a depression by Friday morning. By 5.30pm on Friday, the system had further weakened into a well-marked low-pressure area over north Chhattisgarh. It is expected to continue weakening by Saturday morning.
The storm has disrupted the normal retreat of the southwest monsoon. The usual date for monsoon withdrawal from Calcutta is around October 12. “Right now, conditions are not favourable for further withdrawal,” said the official.
Friday’s Met bulletin predicted light to moderate rain across south Bengal till at least October 9. Calcutta saw overcast skies and cooler temperatures, but little rain. Showers are expected to return over the weekend.