Cyclone Asani: The cyclone is at 970 km in southeast direction from Vishakapatnam.
Cyclone Asani could bring light to moderate rain with heavy rain in isolated areas in Odisha, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh from Tuesday, the weather office announced today, as the storm is expected to further intensify in the next 24 hours.
The cyclone was unlikely to make landfall either in the coast of Odisha or Andhra Pradesh, but will move parallel to the coast in the sea, the weather office added.
Deep depression in the Bay of Bengal intensified into the cyclonic storm which is moving at 16kmph in northwest direction. The system lay centered at 5.30 AM over Southeast Bay of Bengal, about 450 km west-northwest of Car Nicobar, 380 km west of Port Blair, 970 km southeast of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and 1030 km south-southeast of Puri in Odisha, the weather office said.
The system will remain in the form of a cyclonic storm till Sunday evening and later intensify into a severe cyclonic storm. It will continue to remain in this form till May 10 night. Subsequently, it will lose steam in the sea and become another cyclonic storm on May 11 and 12.
While the maximum speed limit on May 8 will remain at 60 to 70 kmph, gusting to 80 kmph, its speed may increase to 90 to 100 kmph with gusting up to 110 kmph by Sunday afternoon and then speed up by evening to reach 95 to 105kmph with gusting to 115 kmph.
On May 9th, the wind speed will be 105 to 115 gusting 125 kmph and then the storm is expected to lose stream in the sea on May 10 with wind speed coming down to 96-105 gusting 115 in the early hours reducing progressively as the day wears off.
Rainfall will commence on Tuesday evening and a yellow warning has been issued for rainfall issued in 3 districts in Odisha- Gajpati, Ganjam & Puri. For Wednesday, heavy rainfall warning has been issued for 5 districts- Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Khurda, Cuttack & Ganjam.
Heavy rainfall is also expected in West Bengal on Wednesday and Thursday this week, the weather office said, adding that intense downpour was also likely in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Earlier, the weather office had announced that Cyclone Asani will not make landfall in either Odisha or Andhra Pradesh but will move parallel to the coast.