Second Oman cyclone forecast update

Fears of a second Cyclone Gonu battering the coast of Oman began to subside on Wednesday with forecasters downplaying the chance of any storm forming in the Arabian Sea.

Two UK-based meteorological centres on Monday warned that a cyclone could hit Oman and Yemen later this month, with the Directorate General of Meteorology and Air Navigation (DGMAN) stating a cyclone is forecast to strike the coastal region of Oman and Yemen on May 29.

However the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF), which said there was "potential" for a cyclone, withdrew its cyclone watch in the face of "invading westerly systems", according to the Times of Oman daily.

The ECMWF's seven-day forecasts released on Tuesday shows no indication of any significant weather event for the region, the newspaper said.

The Dubai Meteorological Office is also not forecasting a tropical storm for the region, with forecasters telling ArabianBusiness.com the office had not received an advisory from the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre, which monitors the world’s oceans for such events.

“We have seeing some unsettled weather in Socotra Island [southeast of Yemen]. There’s some cloud and thunderstorms there which could be triggering the other warning, but nothing we would recognise as a tropical storm,” a forecaster said.

He said the Met office computer models were not developing a storm in that area over the next seven days, but would be “keeping an eye” on developments.

Cyclone Gonu wreaked havoc on Oman in June, battering its coast for three days and killing around 50 people. It halted oil and gas exports, damaged main roads and bridges and caused floods and landslides across the country, costing the economy almost $4 billion.