Odisha Gearing Up For Heavy Rain From August 3: CEC

Bhubaneswar: Heavy rains may pound Odisha in the next few days as a low pressure area (LOPAR) is likely to form over the northwest Bay of Bengal off the West Bengal coast on August 2 and intensify into a depression the next day, the Centre for Environment and Climate (CEC), SOA Deemed to be University, said on Wednesday.

The system was expected to intensify into a deep depression on August 4 over the northwest Bay of Bengal and merge with another depression, now lying over South China Sea, which is likely to move towards the Bay of Bengal, Dr. Sarat Chandra Sahu, Director of CEC and eminent meteorologist, said.

The depression over South China Sea would initially move in a north-north westwardly direction and then southwestwards towards northeast Bay of Bengal, he said.

This system is likely to merge with the deep depression formed over northwest Bay of Bengal on August 5 and move in a north westwardly direction and cross the Odisha-West Bengal border near Digha on the night of August 5 or early morning of August 6.

Under its influence, rainfall will increase gradually from August 2 in Odisha’s districts of Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Khurda, Cuttack  and Dhenkanal, Dr. Sahu said

Heavy to very heavy rainfall might be experienced from August 3 in the state’s coastal belt as also in the districts of Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Angul, Dhenkanal, Nayagarh, Sambalpur, Sundargarh, Bargarh, Jharsuguda, Deogarh, Balangir, Sonepur, Boudh, Nuapada, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi and Kandhamal. The rains might continue till August 6 night, he said.

Under the influence of the system, wind speed reaching 60 km per hour, might be experienced in coastal and adjoining districts, Dr. Sahu said adding the catchments of upper and lower Mahanadi, Brahmani, Baitarani, Budhabalanga and Subarnarekha rivers could receive heavy precipitation between August 3 and 6.