Bhubaneswar: An anticyclone over the China-Myanmar region, strong westerly wind and a low-pressure system over south Bay of Bengal combined to stall Cyclone Arnab for nearly six hours, delaying its landfall, IMD director general Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said.IMD had initially predicted landfall to be in the forenoon of Wednesday, before revising it between 2 am and 4 am. The landfall lasted from 2 am to 8 am.“It’s unique and academically fascinating. Like in an individual’s life where so many forces work behind one taking a decision. The cyclone too was subjected to so many forces,” Mohapatra said.A cyclone is an intense low-pressure system in which air rises and moves inward, while an anticyclone works in the opposite way, with air sinking and spreading outward.Explaining the rare interplay of the three weather systems, Mohapatra said while the anticyclone was steering the cyclone, strong westerly wind, which is generally strong in Oct, was pushing it back, while a low-pressure system over south Bay of Bengal was pulling it towards itself. The combined effect created an unusual atmospheric tug-of-war.“These factors made the cyclone almost stationary, which prolonged the landfall process,” Mohapatra said, adding, “It’s like a cyclist struggling uphill as shifting winds alternately push from behind and hold him back, before a sharp bend in the road forces him to change direction.”The impact was also visible in Arnab’s track as the cyclone took a sharp right turn after landfall.Though the landfall took longer than anticipated, the cyclone’s predicted path of landfall between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam to the southwest of Yanam and intensity of 135 km were almost accurate as IMD had taken these factors into account while making its forecast, he said.Such a phenomenon is rare but not unprecedented. The 1999 Odisha supercyclone remained nearly stationary over the Odisha coast for around 30 hours. More recently, Cyclone Burevi had a prolonged and complex landfall in Dec 2020.