This kind of storm is not very common in November, IMD sources said.
Phyan was triggered due to a deep depression over the east central Arabian Sea which converted into a storm by Tuesday night and then moved towards Mumbai on Wednesday.
As per IMD data for the last 100 years, November 1946 saw three cyclonic storms pass through the region, 1947 and 1948 had one storm each and earlier, in 1912, there was one cyclonic storm in November in the region.
A tropical cyclone is a rotational low pressure system. It is also interesting to note that the word cyclone was coined by Henry Piddington who worked as a rapporteur in Kolkata during British rule. The word has been derived from the Greek word cyclos which means coiling of a snake.
Cyclones are well known in India and in other regions a strong tropical cyclone is known as a hurricane or a typhoon. Tropical cyclones are called hurricanes over the Atlantic Ocean and typhoons over the Pacific Ocean.
Meanwhile, Phyan lost its severity as it crossed India's west coast just north of Mumbai Wednesday evening, but brought with it heavy rain over the area and rode on strong winds gusting up to 85 km per hour, officials said.
According to the IMD, the cyclone crossed the Maharashtra coast between Alibaug and Mumbai around 5 p.m.
It was centred as a deep depression over north Konkan, around 100 km southwest of Mumbai.
On Thursday it is expected to move further north, northeast and weaken further into a deep depression, the IMD said.
Source: India Syndicate and IANS
