ICYMI: AccuWeather's 2023 US spring forecast is out. Get the details. Chevron right

Ashburn, VA

50°F
Location Chevron down
Location News Videos
Use Current Location
Recent

Ashburn

Virginia

50°
No results found.
Try searching for a city, zip code or point of interest.
settings
Ashburn, VA Weather
Today WinterCast Local {stormName} Tracker Hourly Daily Radar MinuteCast Monthly Air Quality Health & Activities

Around the Globe

Hurricane Tracker

Severe Weather

Radar & Maps

News

News & Features

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel

Video

Podcasts

Winter Center

News & Features AccuWeather Prime Astronomy Business Climate Health Recreation Sports Travel

News / Hurricane

Cyclone Mandous makes landfall in southeastern India, unloads heavy rain

By Bill Deger, AccuWeather senior meteorologist

Published Dec 8, 2022 11:22 AM EST | Updated Dec 9, 2022 11:38 AM EST

Copied
Live Coverage For all things weather, 24 hours a day.

The ‘Blue Marble,’ an iconic image of Earth captured on the final Apollo mission to the moon, dates back to Dec. 7, 1972.

Cyclone Mandous will continue to bring dangerous impacts to India even as the storm moves well inland into Saturday.

The storm, named by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), formed on Thursday, local time, in the Bay of Bengal just to the northeast of Sri Lanka. The cyclone ramped up quickly and was packing maximum sustained winds up to 55 mph (90 km/h).

According to IMD's intensity scale, Mandous is a severe cyclonic storm. Put in terms of the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, the cyclone was equivalent to the strength of a tropical storm in the Atlantic Ocean.

Heavy rain began to pound the Tamil Nadu coast on Thursday, with heavy rain beginning in the city of Chennai by Friday morning. On Friday evening, the storm had maintained its intensity and was inching northwestward towards the India coastline as drenching rainfall continued to move inland. The IMD reported some locations had around 2 inches (50 mm) of rain on Friday.

Ahead of the approach of Mandous, authorities in India were preparing for impacts. Officials said schools and colleges within the cyclone's projected path will be closed Friday, according to the Times of India. Several flights were canceled at the Chennai Airport as the storm approached, and 16,000 police personnel were deployed to the expected landfall location and ready to help, according to The Hindu. The IMD has also issued rain alerts in the country's southeastern states.

Cyclonic Storm Mandous nearing landfall, as seen on AccuWeather Enhanced RealVue™ Satellite, as of Friday afternoon, local time.

"Mandous is expected to make landfall between Puducherry and Sriharikota very early Saturday morning, local time, with heavy rain [expected] into Saturday in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry," said AccuWeather Lead International Forecaster Jason Nicholls.

The impacts from Mandous are expected to linger across southeastern India into the weekend as the cyclone moves inland. While gusty winds are likely near and north of the landfall location, winds will diminish rather quickly once it moves inland. The Eastern Ghats, a mountain range extending from north to south not far inland in southeastern India, will help cause the cyclone to lose wind intensity over the weekend.

Instead, tropical rainfall will be the lingering impact in most communities.

GET THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP

   Have the app? Unlock AccuWeather Alerts™ with Premium+

AccuWeather forecasters expect a total of 3-6 inches (8-15 cm) of rain, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 8 inches (20 cm), around the area of landfall. Rainfall of this magnitude will lead to significant flash flooding on streets and highways, especially in the city of Chennai, due to poor drainage. Mudslides can also occur in the higher ground found farther inland. A much larger area in southern India will receive 1-3 inches (2-8 cm) of rain.

"Despite the expected loss of wind intensity, lingering moisture can lead to scattered rains across southern India from Sunday into early next week," said Nicholls.

"The leftover low-pressure center from Mandous will likely emerge over the Arabian Sea to the west of India on Monday, but it is unlikely to regenerate into a tropical system," Nicholls added.

Mandous will be the first tropical cyclonic storm to impact India since Sitrang brought heavy rain to the northeastern part of the country in October after making landfall in Bangladesh. It will also be the first direct landfall since Severe Cyclonic Storm Asani back in May.

The potential for tropical development in the Bay of Bengal was first mentioned by AccuWeather on Nov. 24 when a storm developed near Micronesia and before it tracked northwestward into the northeastern Indian Ocean. This storm would eventually become Mandous.

See Also:

The 'Blue Marble': One of Earth's most iconic images, 50 years on
Dramatic videos show rare tornado touching down in Qatar
Cave explorers discover ‘heavenly’ sinkhole surprise

Want next-level safety, ad-free? Unlock advanced, hyperlocal severe weather alerts when you subscribe to Premium+ on the AccuWeather app. AccuWeather Alerts™ are prompted by our expert meteorologists who monitor and analyze dangerous weather risks 24/7 to keep you and your family safer.

Report a Typo

Weather News

Winter Weather

Stunning videos capture the full scope of Southern ice storm

Feb. 5, 2023
Sports

Cold weather, short field produce bumps in road to the Kentucky Derby

Feb. 3, 2023
Weather News

Old photo inspired park ranger to explore hidden history of Yosemite

Feb. 3, 2023
Show more Show less Chevron down

Topics

News & Features

AccuWeather Prime

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel

Top Stories

Winter Weather

Mount Washington’s astonishing RealFeel Temp in record territory

2 hours ago

Severe Weather

Severe weather, flooding threats loom for Texas to Ohio this week

1 hour ago

Winter Weather

Weekend storm to give way to pattern change in California

2 hours ago

Weather Forecasts

Spring to bring more snow chances, AccuWeather experts say

1 day ago

Winter Weather

Why sudden loud booms sometimes occur when it’s very cold outside

1 day ago

More Stories

Featured Topic

Tips to cope with winter weather

Featured Stories

Weather News

US fighter jets shoot down Chinese spy balloon off East Coast

21 hours ago

Weather News

Cold weather testing: Airplanes endure punishing extremes

2 days ago

Astronomy

Where will snow fall as the Snow Moon rises this weekend?

8 hours ago

AccuWeather Hurricane Cyclone Mandous makes landfall in southeastern India, unloads heavy rain
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs Podcast RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs Podcast RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
© 2023 AccuWeather, Inc. "AccuWeather" and sun design are registered trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | TAG Disclosure | Do Not Sell My Data checkmark Confirmed Not Selling Your Data

We have updated our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.

I Understand

Get AccuWeather alerts as they happen with our browser notifications.

Notifications Enabled

Thanks! We’ll keep you informed.

FEEDBACK