Bhubaneswar: A depression over the northwest Bay of Bengal crossed the North Odisha coast near Baleshwar on Sunday afternoon and is expected to move west-northwestwards across North Odisha, adjoining south Jharkhand and North Chhattisgarh over the next 24 hours, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
The weather system moved west-northwestwards at a speed of 12 kmph during the past six hours before making landfall near Baleshwar (Lat. 21.3°N/Long. 86.9°E) at around 2.30 pm.
According to the IMD, the depression was centred at 5.30 pm over the coastal areas of North Odisha and adjoining West Bengal near latitude 21.6°N and longitude 86.5°E. It lay about 50 km west-northwest of Baleshwar, 50 km southwest of Baripada, 100 km east of Kendujhargada and 140 km south-southeast of Jamshedpur.
The Met department said the system is likely to continue moving nearly west-northwestwards across North Odisha, adjoining south Jharkhand and North Chhattisgarh during the next 24 hours.
Under the influence of the depression, several parts of North Odisha are likely to experience widespread rainfall, with heavy to very heavy showers at isolated places.
Gusty winds are also expected over the affected districts, prompting the IMD to advise fishermen against venturing into the sea until conditions improve.
