Bhubaneswar: Cyclonic Storm ‘Murasu’ over the Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify into a Severe Cyclonic Storm by the early hours of November 2 and cross the south Andhra Pradesh coast between late Monday night and early Tuesday morning, with wind speeds reaching up to 120 kmph, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Sunday.
In its latest bulletin, the weather agency said the storm had moved west-northwestwards at a speed of 25 kmph during the preceding six hours and lay centred over the southwest and adjoining westcentral Bay of Bengal at 5.30 pm on Sunday.
The system was located near latitude 12.7°N and longitude 84.1°E, approximately 420 km east-southeast of Chennai, 490 km east-southeast of Nellore and 500 km southeast of Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh.
It was also positioned around 510 km east-southeast of Kavali, 530 km southeast of Ongole and 560 km south-southeast of Visakhapatnam, the IMD said.
The cyclonic storm is very likely to continue moving west-northwestwards and intensify further into a Severe Cyclonic Storm over the westcentral Bay of Bengal by the early hours of November 2.
Thereafter, it is expected to move northwestwards and cross the south Andhra Pradesh coast as a Severe Cyclonic Storm between Nellore and Narsapur, close to Ongole.
Landfall is likely between 11.30 pm on November 2 and 4 am on November 3, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 100-110 kmph and gusts reaching up to 120 kmph, according to the IMD forecast.
The approaching storm is being closely monitored by meteorological authorities, with further updates on its movement, intensity and likely impact expected in subsequent bulletins.
