Low-pressure system over Bay of Bengal to bring heavy rain, thunderstorms to Odisha

Bhubaneswar, Aug 13: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday reported that a low-pressure area continues to prevail over the Bay of Bengal, prompting heavy rain and thunderstorm alerts across several districts of Odisha. The system is expected to intensify and move west-northwestwards, likely affecting North Coastal Andhra Pradesh and South Odisha within the next 48 hours.

As of 8:30 a.m. IST, the low-pressure area was located over the west-central and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal, off the coasts of North Andhra Pradesh and South Odisha. An associated upper air cyclonic circulation extends up to 7.6 km above mean sea level, tilting southwards with height.

The monsoon trough at mean sea level stretches from Bhatinda through Ambala, Shahjahanpur, Varanasi, and Daltonganj before linking to the low-pressure system over the Bay. Additionally, an east-west trough from the central Bay of Bengal to the northeast Arabian Sea is influencing weather in Telangana, North Maharashtra, and South Gujarat.

The IMD’s midday bulletin issued an orange warning for Koraput and Malkangiri, forecasting heavy to very heavy rain, thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds of 30–40 km/h. A yellow warning has been issued for Gajapati, Ganjam, Rayagada, Kalahandi, Nabarangpur, Nayagarh, Kandhamal, Nuapada, and Bolangir.

Other districts, including Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Cuttack, Khurda, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, and Mayurbhanj, are also likely to experience thunderstorms with lightning and strong winds over the next 24 hours. The IMD cautioned that these conditions may persist until August 17.