Devastating cyclone aims at India

A major weather event appears to be unfolding in another part of the world.

While the hurricane season has been a washout here in the Western Hemisphere, one of the strongest cyclones in recent years is poised to strike India early Saturday.

Super Cyclone Phailin is in the Bay of Bengal on Friday and moving toward the eastern coast of India. Forecasters say the storm likely will make landfall about 10 a.m. Saturday (Eastern time), affecting Andra Pradesh and Odisha states.

Phailin (Thai for "sapphire") was a tropical storm just a few days ago but exploded in strength Thursday as it entered the Bay of Bengal. Top sustained winds Friday morning were 155 mph, and the storm's total circulation area is about 40 percent of the size of India. The storm's winds increased about 70 mph during the day Thursday.

With little or no wind shear and very warm water in the Bay of Bengal, Phailin is not likely to weaken.

The water is quite shallow near the coasts of India and Bangladesh in the Bay of Bengal, and that contributes to the massive damage caused by waves and storm surge. Forecasters say Phailin is building 50-foot waves.

A strong cyclone struck roughly the same area in 1999, killing nearly 10,000 and causing $2.5 billion in damage.

However, forecasters say Phailin likely will hit land a bit south of the 1999 storm, where the land is a bit farther above sea level. That might temper the impact of the storm surge and waves.