Extreme Weather, Beware of Hail in Eastern Indonesia

JAKARTA - The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) issued a warning regarding the seeds of a 17W tropical cyclone detected in the West Pacific Ocean, north of Papua, Wednesday 15 November.

The potential for cyclone development could cause tornadoes and hail in parts of eastern Indonesia.

According to information released on the official BMKG website on Wednesday, the spawn of tropical cyclone 17W, which is located in the West Pacific Ocean, north of Papua, is moving northwest with a maximum wind speed of 20 knots and a minimum air pressure of 1006.1 millibars.

BMKG forecaster, Erika, reminded people in the area to increase their awareness of the potential for tornadoes and hail that could be associated with strong winds during this season's transition period.

Erika also said that the tropical cyclone seed 17W has the potential to develop into a tropical cyclone in the next 24 hours. The results of satellite image analysis show significant cloud growth in most areas of Sumatra, Banten, Central Java, East Java, East Kalimantan and Gorontalo.

BMKG also issued an early warning regarding the potential for winds with speeds of 10 to 40 km per hour in the Aceh, Palembang and West Java regions. In addition, light to heavy rain is expected in Banda Aceh and Pekanbaru, while heavy rain accompanied by lightning in Medan, Padang, Tanjungpinang, Jambi and Pangkal Pinang.

The weather forecast also includes rain which could hit several big cities such as Jakarta, Serang, Semarang, Surabaya, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Denpasar, Samarinda, Palangka Raya, Banjarmasin, Gorontalo and Makassar.