Cyclone Nilofar Heads Toward India and Pakistan

Cyclone Nilofar is expected to head towards India and Pakistan, making landfall on Saturday. Nilofar was upgraded to a Category 4 storm yesterday, but has since weakened; winds of 115 mph were recorded earlier today, classifying the cyclone as a Category 3 storm. Although the storm has since decreased in strength, Nilofar was found to be the third strongest tropical cyclone on record in the Arabian Sea, after it rapidly intensified yesterday (The Weather Channel).

Tropical Cyclone #Nilofar has intensified to CAT4 strength- strongest storm in Arabian Sea since Phet in 2010. pic.twitter.com/W8fyriLpLK

— Brandon Miller (@BrandonCNN) October 28, 2014

VIIRS True Color imagery from Oct. 28 of Tropical Cyclone #Nilofar off the Arabian Peninsula (via RAMMB/CIRA). pic.twitter.com/ih2onWrNt0

— NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) October 29, 2014

The jet stream will grab hold of Nilofar and track it to the northeast, toward southeastern Pakistan and northwestern India. The cyclone is expected to continue to weaken as increased vertical wind shear and dry air work into the storm before it makes landfall. Nilofar is predicted to be only as intense as a low-grade tropical storm at landfall, which is definitely good news for the countries in the path of this cyclone.