Very heavy rain, stormy winds forecast for Odisha over next 2 days

Kolkata, (PTI): The meteorological department has advised fishermen to return to coast after warning of heavy to very heavy rain in Odisha over the next two days as a low-pressure area formed over the Bay of Bengal on Saturday and is likely turn into a depression.

The low-pressure area, which formed in the morning on Saturday, is likely to move northwestwards and turn into a depression over the northwest Bay of Bengal off the north Odisha-West Bengal coasts during the next 48 hours, the weatherman said.

It is then very likely to move west-northwestwards across north Odisha and north Chhattisgarh during the subsequent two to three days, the Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre said in a release.

As a result, strong wind with speeds reaching 45-55 kmph and gusting up to 65 kmph are very likely along and off the Odisha coast over the next three days. Sea conditions will be rough, it said.

Fishermen have been advised to return to the coast from the deep sea by Saturday night and not to venture into the sea till Tuesday, according to the Met centre.

It issued an orange weather warning of isolated heavy to very heavy rain and extremely heavy showers at one or two places on Sunday and Monday in the state.

The met department has forecast heavy to very heavy downpour in Puri, Khordha, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Dhenkanal, Jajpur and Bhadrak districts on Sunday. There is also likelihood of heavy rainfall in Ganjam, Balasore, Nayagarh, Angul, Boudh, Sambalpur, Subarnapur, Bolangir and Mayurbhanj.

On Monday heavy to very heavy rainfall will occur at a few places with isolated extremely heavy rainfall in Angul, Deogarh, Keonjhar, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Sundargarh, Bargarh, Bolangir, and Subarnapur, it said.

The met department issued a yellow weather warning of heavy downpour in Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Boudh, Nuapada, Cuttack, Jajpur, Dhenkanal, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Balasore, and Kendrapara districts.

In the 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Saturday there was light to moderate rainfall in most places in Odisha.

There was heavy rainfall at one or two places in Khordha, Sundargarh, Bolangir, and Kalahandi districts. Banapur in Khordha received 105 mm of rain during the period, followed by 90 mm at Bonaigarh in Sundargarh and 86 mm at Saintala in Balangir, according to the Met office bulletin.

There was 83 mm of rain in Madanpur Rampur in Kalahandi, while there was moderate rainfall of 60.2 mm in Ramanaguda area of Rayagada and 59.1 mm in Kakatpur in Puri district, it added. (PTI)