The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has urged the public to prepare for Tropical Cyclone Herman, which can cause extreme weather in the form of heavy rain with strong winds in Yogyakarta.
"Tropical Cyclone Herman increases air supply in the Java region, so convective cloud activities also increase. This causes quite extreme weather conditions in Java and Yogyakarta," said Head of the Yogyakarta BMKG Meteorological Station, Warjono, on Friday.
He said the tropical cyclone was forecast to be active until April 4, 2023.
He explained that the cyclone's position was detected on Wednesday (March 29) in the Indian Ocean, south of Central Java and Yogyakarta, and was forecast to move southeast at a speed of five knots.
Tropical Cyclone Herman is then projected to move toward the middle of the Indonesian waters and return westward.
"It will move to the south of Central Java and Yogyakarta. The peak will be in the east side today, at 12 p.m. local time, and it will return to the west," he remarked.
He added that the cyclone movement would cause extreme weather similar to what had occurred in Yogyakarta recently.
"It could be heavy rain accompanied by wind and even a potential for hail," he noted.
Warjono said the growth of convective clouds that can cause extreme weather would usually begin to form west of Mount Merapi, Salaman, Magelang District, or Turi, Sleman.
Dark towering convective clouds can move towards Yogyakarta City through Kulon Progo or Sleman and will then continue to Bantul and Gunung Kidul.
Although the rain would be short, the regions in which the clouds pass will be affected by destructive winds, he said.
Moreover, whirlwinds may occur in the Bantul region, which is flat land.
"The pattern (cloud movement) happens locally in Yogyakarta. This needs to be watched out for, so we will be better prepared to deal with it when there are signs of extreme weather in the region," he remarked.
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Translator: Luqman H, Kenzu
Editor: Anton Santoso
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