Bhubaneswar: Several districts of Odisha are likely to experience rainfall till October 6 under the influence of a well-marked low-pressure area over the west-central Bay of Bengal, the Meteorological Department said on Wednesday.

The system, which moved north-northwestwards, concentrated into a depression and lay centered at 11:30 AM today over the west-central Bay near latitude 15.8°N and longitude 86.5°E. It was positioned about 400 km east-southeast of Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), 420 km south-southeast of Gopalpur (Odisha), 450 km south of Puri, and 500 km south of Paradip.

The depression is expected to intensify further into a deep depression and cross the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh coasts between Gopalpur and Paradip during the early hours of October 3.

Weather Warnings

Red Warning: Jagatsinghpur and Puri districts are expected to witness heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places, with isolated extremely heavy falls. Thunderstorms with lightning and gusty winds (40–50 kmph) are also likely.
Orange Warning: Isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall with thunderstorms and gusty winds (40–50 kmph) are likely in Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Cuttack, Khurda, Nayagarh, Ganjam, Gajapati, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Bolangir, and Dhenkanal.

Yellow Warning:

Heavy rainfall with thunderstorms and gusty winds (40–50 kmph) may occur in Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Nabarangpur, Bargarh, Sonepur, Boudh, Angul, and Keonjhar.

Thunderstorms with lightning and winds (30–40 kmph) may affect Nuapada, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, and Deogarh. (Valid till October 3).

According to Dr. S.C. Sahu, Director of the Centre for Environment and Climate (CEC) of SOA University, the system is intensifying rapidly and may turn into a depression by Wednesday evening or night. It is likely to shift slightly north-northwestward and cross near Chilika Lake between Ganjam and Puri districts on October 25 afternoon.

Thereafter, it will move inland across Odisha towards Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, causing widespread rainfall till October 6. Moderate rainfall is expected in most coastal, western, and northeastern districts, while some areas may receive heavy to very heavy rainfall.

Districts likely to be affected include Puri, Ganjam, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Balasore, Jajpur, Khurda, Cuttack, Nayagarh, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Angul, Deogarh, Sambalpur, Sundargarh, Boudh, Sonepur, Kandhamal, Balangir, and Bargarh.