New Delhi: The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday forecast a cyclonic storm over the southwest Bay of Bengal on December 3, which is likely to make landfall in the coastal districts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh on December 4.
The weather department issued an 'Orange' alert over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Karaikal for Sunday and Monday. IMD predicted extremely heavy rainfall (above 204.4 mm) on Sunday and heavy to very heavy rainfall on Monday.
According to the IMD, the low-pressure area in the Bay of Bengal has intensified into a depression on Friday and is likely to become a cyclonic storm around December 4. The storm will cross the coast between Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Chennai around Monday 4 evening, the weather department said.
"Depression over Bay of Bengal lay centered at 1130 hrs IST of 01 Dec over the Southeast and adj Southwest BoB region about 730 km east-southeast of Puducherry, 740 km east-southeast of Chennai, 860 km southeast of Nellore," the IMD said in a statement.
IMD said the storm is likely to continue to move towards the west and northwest and intensify into a deep depression by December 2 and further into a cyclonic storm around December 3. Then, it would move in the same direction “and cross South Andhra Pradesh and adjoining North Tamil Nadu coast between Chennai and Machilipatnam around the evening of December 4 as a cyclonic storm,” the weatherman added.
However, Cyclone Michaung is not likely to have any impact on Odisha, an official at the Special Relief Commissioner's Office in Bhubaneswar told news agency PTI.