Bhubaneswar: While heavy rain battered Odisha for three days due to low-pressure area (LOPRA) over the Bay of Bengal on September 10, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast the formation of another LOPRA off the north Odisha in the next 48 hours.
Briefing the media in New Delhi on Thursday, IMD Director-General Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said that a cyclonic circulation formed over the east-central Bay of Bengal and its adjoining areas off the Myanmar coast this morning is most likely to move in the west-north-west direction and lay centred near the north Odisha coast in the next 48 hours on September 18 and then concentrate into a low-pressure area.
“Under its influence, the rainfall will start from September 18 evening and one or two places in north Odisha districts will experience heavy showers for the next two days – September 19 and 20,” Mohapatra said.
However, this low pressure will not be as severe as the previous one as it will not concentrate into a depression and instead pass through north Odisha via Sundargarh as a low pressure and move towards Chhattisgarh.
“Under the influence of the low pressure, there will be heavy rainfall of about 7-12 cm at one or two places in Balasore, Cuttack, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Kendrapada, Jajpur and Jagatsinghpur,” Mohapatra pointed out.
On the flood situation in Mahanadi, he said Chhattisgarh will not experience heavy rain for three days as the depression over Chhattisgarh has now moved towards north Madhya Pradesh and south Uttar Pradesh as a low pressure. Besides, there will be no heavy rainfall in Odisha for two days from Thursday.
