The depression over southeast Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify into a cyclone on Monday, moving west-northwestward towards the Andhra Pradesh coast. At 5:30 am today, it was about 420 km from Port Blair and about 990-1040 km from major coastal cities including Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Kakinada and Gopalpur.
The weather agency further added that the system is expected to move west-northwest, intensify into a deep depression by tomorrow and develop into a cyclonic storm over southwest and west-central Bay of Bengal by the morning of October 27. It is likely to head towards the Andhra Pradesh coast during the next 48 hours.
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The meteorological agency has issued an “orange alert” for Odisha and Tamil Nadu, indicating heavy rainfall.
Tamil Nadu
The IMD has issued an orange warning of light rain with thunder and lightning at isolated places over Kanyakumari, Tenkasi, Thoothukkudi, Tirunelveli and other districts of Tamil Nadu. Meanwhile, a yellow warning has been issued for Thiruvallur, Chengalpattu, Chennai and Kanchipuram, indicating light rain.
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Odisha
The IMD has issued an orange alert for Ganjam, Gajapati and Rayagada districts, warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and wind speed of up to 40 kmph.
Meanwhile, Malkangiri, Koraput, Nawarangpur, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Bolangir, Nuapada, Boudh, Nayagarh, Khurda, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Cuttack are expected to experience heavy rain. and will remain under yellow alert.
Additionally, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Angul, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj and Sonepur have also been placed on yellow alert. for storms and lightning.
On Tuesday, October 28, the orange alert is likely to extend to Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Puri, Khurda, Koraput and Malkangiri along with Ganjam, Gajapati and Rayagada.
Read also | Mumbai: Rain lashes city, Thane & Palghar; IMD predicts showers till October 26
While the cyclone is not expected to make a direct landfall in Odisha, it is still likely to cause widespread downpours and gusty winds.
Will it make landfall in Andhra Pradesh?
According to a Deccan Herald report, while the IMD is yet to share specific details about the cyclone’s path, independent weather bloggers suggest that the system is most likely to make landfall in Andhra Pradesh.
Besides, three more weather systems developing over Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea are expected to bring heavy rainfall to Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka in the coming days.
