Orange Alert For Odisha Again; Thunderstorm, Gusty Wind & Hail Likely In 4 Dists Tomorrow

Bhubaneswar: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday warned of thunderstorm with lightning, gusty surface wind speed reaching 40-50 kmph and hail in four districts of Odisha on Friday.

Orange warning has been sounded for Bhadrak, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and Balasore.

It further cautioned about minor damage to loose/unsecured structures, banana trees and ripe paddy crops in these four districts.

Yellow warning of thunderstorm with lightning, gusty surface wind speed reaching 30-40 kmph has also been issued for one or two places over the districts of Sundargarh, Deogarh, Angul, Dhenkanal, Jajpur, Kendrapada, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Boudh, Nayagarh, Khurda, Puri, Jharsuguda and Sambalpur.

People have been advised to keep a watch on weather and take safe shelter during the thunderstorm activity to protect themselves from lightning. “Also harvesting of crops may be regulated judicially and farmers are advised to use hail nets to protect vegetables and crops from hail,” it noted.

Yellow warning for thunderstorm with lightning continues for two more days. Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Balasore, Bhadrak, Dhenkanal, Jajpur and Kendrapada may experience such weather conditions on February 23 and Mayurbhanj and Balasore on February 24.

Several districts in the state may also experience light to moderate rain during this period. However, there will be no large change in the night temperature during the next 4-5 days, it added.