Bhubaneswar: A “well-marked” low-pressure area in the Bay of Bengal has intensified into a depression and is likely to turn into a cyclonic storm that may hit the Andhra Pradesh coast November 3, India Meteorological Department officials said Saturday.
On October 28, Cyclonic storm Arnab bruised Andhra Pradesh and Odisha with wind speeds of 150 kmph at landfall.
“The wind speed of the possible cyclonic storm is likely to be between 80 kmph and 90 kmph, with occasional gusts up to 100 kmph. It may make landfall along the Andhra Pradesh coast Tuesday morning,” IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said.
In a bulletin issued at 3 pm, IMD said, “The well-marked low-pressure area over Southeast Bay of Bengal and adjoining areas of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Andaman Sea moved west-northwestwards and concentrated into a depression at 11.30 am October 31 over the same region.”
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The weather system was 330 km west-southwest of Sri Vijayapuram in the Andaman Islands and 300 km west-northwest of Car Nicobar.
“It is very likely to move west-northwestwards and intensify into a deep depression over the Southeast Bay of Bengal during the next 12 hours.
“Continuing to move west-northwestwards, it is very likely to intensify further into a cyclonic storm over southeast and adjoining areas of southwest and West-central Bay of Bengal during the subsequent 12 hours and reach over West-central Bay of Bengal near Andhra Pradesh coast around evening of November 2,” the bulletin said.
A depression is a weather condition which is more intense than low pressure and less impactful than a cyclonic storm.
Manorama Mohanty, the director of the meteorological centre in Bhubaneswar, said “We are monitoring the system’s progress and will issue further updates as it evolves,” she said.
The IMD has forecast light to moderate rain or thundershowers in a few districts in Odisha.
