Indlala: Inland and Fading Fast

March 15, 2007

--Having stormed ashore at Antalaha as a Category-3 hurricane, TC has strayed inland over the rugged northern end of Madagascar. Winds have weakened from an estimated 105 knots (195 kph) at the time of its early Thursday landfall to 60 knots (110 kph) on the latest advisory from the Tropical Cyclone Center of Reunion. On that 1800 hours, GMT, advisory, the center of Indlala was pinpointed nearly 90 miles--145 kms--southwest of Antalaha; it was still making way towards the southwest at 6 knots, or 11 kph.

--While winds of Indlala are loosing their power to do substantial damage, its threat as a heavy, flooding rain-maker will linger over the island for another two to three days. The weakening low will veer southwards and southeastwards and should slip away to the south and southeast of Madagascar Monday.

--There is still a tropical low southeast of Diego Garcia, but shearing winds are staving off, for the time being, any attempt to gain depression or cyclone status. Whatever becomes of this low, it seems highly unlikely that it will have anything to do with the weather in Mauritius, Reunion and Madagascar.

--For the time being, its looking quiet off tropical Australia and eastward over the tropical Pacific Ocean.

--The heat over southern and eastern Arabia Thursday stood in stark contrast to the cold rain and snow that chilled the Levant. A strong winter storm swung eastwards shedding snow over the mountains of Lebanon and nearby Syria, even along the ridgeline of northwestern Jordan. At the same time, the temperature soared above 100 degrees (38 C) in eastern and southern Saudi Arabia. Wadi Ad Dawaser and Sharurah reached 104, or 40 degrees C. Friday, the storm will surge northeast through the heart of Iran dragging its cold front southeastward to the Gulf and the middle of KSA. But the early heat will linger another day over SE Arabia--UAE, Oman, Yemen and the "Empty Quarter" of KSA.

Report a Typo