From Weather Underground:
Tropical Cyclone Chapala took advantage of the the warmest waters ever recorded in the Arabian Sea at this time of year to put on a remarkable burst of rapid intensification overnight. Chapala topped out for the time being as a top-end Category 4 storm with 155 mph winds (1-minute average) at 2 am EDT Friday, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC). The India Meteorology Department (IMD), which has official responsibility for tropical cyclone warnings in the North Indian Ocean, put Chapala's intensity at 130 mph winds (3-minute average) with a central pressure of 942 mb at 8 am EDT Friday. This made Chapala the second strongest tropical cyclone on record in the Arabian Sea, behind Category 5 Cylcone Gonu of 2007, the only Category 5 storm ever recorded in the Arabian Sea. Gonu peaked at 165 mph winds (JTWC) or 146 mph (IMD) with a 920 mb pressure. The North Indian Ocean as a whole has seen five Category 5 storms in recorded history (with four of them occurring in the Bay of Bengal), so Chapala is the sixth strongest tropical cyclone ever observed in the North Indian Ocean....MORE
Here's the 5-day forecast map:
