Dana intensified into a severe cyclonic storm around Wednesday midnight and was at its strongest form on Thursday evening, when it unleashed a peak wind speed of 125kmph.

Around 12.15am on Friday, the landfall process had started, a Met bulletin said.

Around 9.30pm on Thursday, it was still over the sea, around 80km from the Dhamara port in Odisha.

As the time of landfall came closer, the cone of uncertainty that accompanied the projected forecast track — issued by the Met office — kept shrinking. The path kept veering further off the Bengal coast.

Calcutta, nonetheless, spent a nervous landfall eve. The conditions were overcast since early morning and there were intermittent showers. But the wind picked up steam from late evening. The rain was still an on-and-off drizzle.

From morning to night, nerves were taut. Here’s how:

5.30am on Thursday

The severe cyclonic storm is over the northwest Bay, moving at a speed of 12kmph. It is around 290km from Dhamara and 350km from Sagar Island. It has grown stronger, generating a maximum surface sustained wind speed of 95-105kmph, gusting up to 115kmph.

The city sky is enveloped in dark clouds and a drizzle has started. The conditions are windy. The endless stream of clouds suggests that it is not any other passing thundershower and something bigger is at play.

At a Behala home, a woman wakes up her seven-year-old daughter for school. The school is open but has sent an email to parents, warning them of the bad weather and advising them to use their “discretion” in sending their wards to school. The ominous-looking sky prompts the woman to decide against sending her daughter to school.

11.30am

Dana is over the northwest Bay of Bengal, 210km from Dhamara and 270km from Sagar Island. It has almost reached its peak intensity. The maximum sustained surface wind speed is 100-100kmph, gusting up to 120kmph. The storm itself is moving at 13kmph.

But strangely, the Calcutta sky seems much brighter than it was a few hours ago. The rain has stopped. But it is still breezy. The roads and markets are much less crowded than they usually are.

At the Gariahat market, a fishmonger rues the paltry sale. “People are scared by TV news which predicted a disaster. See for yourself. The sky is clearing. The storm is headed Odisha’s way. Nothing will happen here,” he assures a customer.

5pm

Dana is at its strongest form over the sea. A monstrous severe cyclonic storm, it is consistently unleashing a sustained surface wind speed of 105-115kmph, with some gusts clocking 125kmph. The storm is around 125km from Dhamara and 235km from Sagar Island.

In Calcutta, the clouds are back. As are intermittent showers. Boats on the Hooghly are being anchored with iron chains.

Quest and South City malls are almost deserted. The only busy place at both shopping arcades seems to be the liquor section of a hypermarket chain. The retail stores at both the malls closed early, around 6pm.

Delivery partners of online food aggregators are in business across the city. “The period between 4pm and 7pm is usually lean. But today, many people are ordering in during that period as well,” says a man waiting on his two-wheeler outside a restaurant in Chinar Park.

“Many people are scared that the storm might cripple delivery services later in the night. So, they are ordering in advance,” says Debaditya Chaudhury, director of Chowman, Oudh 1590 & Chapter 2.

9.30pm

Dana is still a severe cyclonic storm. Around 80km from the Dhamara port and 180km from Sagar Island, the system is still generating a peak wind speed of 125kmph.

In Calcutta, the winds are getting stronger and the trees are swaying vigorously.

A family from Baguiati reaches Howrah station in a taxi. They had planned a trip to north Bengal more than a month ago and booked tickets on the NJP-bound Vande Bharat Express, that will leave Howrah early on Friday. The cyclone alert put a spanner in their plan.

Wary of the impact of the storm, the family decided to reach Howrah the night before and spend the night in the retiring room. “We hope this plan works,” says a member of the group.

12.15am

A Met bulletin says the “landfall process has commenced and the forward sector of the wall cloud region is entering into land”.