Bhubaneswar: Odisha is likely to witness widespread rainfall and thunderstorms over the next several days, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issuing an orange warning for parts of the state for Friday and yellow warnings for several districts through September 21.
The IMD, in its evening bulletin issued on Thursday, forecast light to moderate rain or thundershowers at one or two places across all districts till Friday morning. Heavy rainfall is likely at one or two places in Baleshwar, Kendujhar and Mayurbhanj.
Thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds reaching 40-50 kmph are likely at one or two places in Baleshwar, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Kataka, Sundaragada, Jharsuguda, Baragada, Sambalpur, Debagada, Angola, Dhenkanal, Kendujhar and Mayurbhanj. The IMD has issued an orange warning for these areas, urging preparedness for possible weather impacts.
A yellow warning has also been issued for Subarnapur, Boudh, Nuapada, Balangir, Kalahandi, Kandhamala, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, Gajapati, Ganjam, Puri, Khordha and Nayagada, where thunderstorms with lightning and winds of 30-40 kmph may occur at one or two places.
For September 18-19, light to moderate rain or thundershowers are likely at one or two places across the state. Heavy rainfall may occur in Sundaragada, Kendujhar and Mayurbhanj, while thunderstorms with lightning and gusty winds of 30-40 kmph are expected in several coastal and northern districts.
The wet spell is likely to continue through September 22. The IMD has forecast rain or thundershowers at a few places on September 19-21 and at many places on September 21-23. Yellow warnings for thunderstorms and gusty winds remain in force for several districts during this period.
The weather office has also forecast another spell of heavy rainfall in Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, Gajapati and Ganjam on September 23-24. No large change in weather conditions is expected during the subsequent three days.
The IMD said an upper-air cyclonic circulation over north Thailand is likely to emerge over the north Andaman Sea around September 18 evening. Under its influence, a low-pressure area is likely to form over the north Andaman Sea around September 19 evening and subsequently intensify while moving west-northwestwards towards the south Odisha-north Andhra Pradesh coast over the following three to four days.
For Bhubaneswar, the forecast for the next 24 hours is partly cloudy skies with a possibility of rain or thunderstorm. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to remain around 36°C and 26°C, respectively.
