Flying close to Cyclone Phailin will, very evidently, be very, very bumpy. On the 4th of October, Cyclone Phailin developed from a tropical depression that developed within the Gulf of Thailand, and is hence called “Phailin”, which means Sapphire. The depression moved over the Andamans, picked up momentum and gale-like winds, becoming a cyclone on the 9th of October.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicts Phailin will hit India’s coast at around 18:30 IST (local), on October 12th (today), close to the city of Gopalpur, Orissa. The Northern coastline of Andhra Pradesh; and the whole of Orissa’s coastline are likely to be severely affected.

Phailin is a Category 5 (Severe Tropical Cyclone): the severest of all. The winds of such a cyclone are very destructive. IMD predicts the surface winds to touch 220km/h.

Here is the latest Satellite Image (Auto-updated):