Weatherwatch: tropical storm season in full swing in Indian and Pacific oceans

The tropical Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean are having a rather active period, with Hurricane Kristy to the west of Mexico, tropical storms Trami and Kong-Rey in the western Pacific, and Cyclone Dana making landfall in north-east India. The tropical Atlantic meanwhile is in a quieter period with no active tropical cyclones and none expected to develop in the near future.

Hurricane Kristy developed from the remnants of Tropical Storm Nadine, which hit Mexico late last week. Kristy strengthened to a category 4 hurricane on Wednesday as it pushed westwards across the eastern tropical Pacific. It is forecast to veer northwards over the Pacific without making landfall, dissipating as it travels across less warm waters.

Across the Pacific, Tropical Storm Trami, also called Kristine, made landfall in northern parts of the Philippines on Thursday, bringing gusts of almost 100mph (160kmph) and torrential rain. Some weather stations recorded more than 300mm (12 inches) of rain in 24 hours, causing severe flooding and landslides. More than 100,000 people have been evacuated, and 24 are known to have died so far. Conditions are expected to improve into the weekend as Trami moves towards Vietnam, but the Philippines is being kept on high alert thanks to Tropical Storm Kong-Rey, which has developed near Guam and is expected to track westwards, potentially affecting the same areas as Trami.

Cyclone Dana made landfall in north-east India on Thursday night, having developed in the Bay of Bengal on Tuesday before strengthening to a severe cyclonic storm on Thursday. About 1.5 million people from the states of Odisha and West Bengal were evacuated in anticipation of heavy rain and winds of 70mph.

Away from the tropics, warnings have been issued for heavy rain for parts of southern France and north-west Italy through this weekend. The rain is due to an area of low pressure that is forecast to stagnate near the border between France and Spain, driving a warm moist flow of air from the Mediterranean Sea. More than 100mm of rain is forecast to fall in some areas, with the heaviest expected across the Côte d’Azur, the Italian state of Liguria, and the western Italian Alps.