Hurricane update - 18 May

We have a new tropical cyclone in the world, Laila. This one is located in the Bay of  Bengal, some 350 miles east of Chennai (Madras) in India. It is at tropical storm strength and will impact the coast as a minor hurricane in a few days' time. This is the first system since 25 April, one of the longest cyclone-free intervals in the four years that I've been following these phenomena.