Westerly Disturbance Brings Rain & Thunderstorm To Odisha; IMD Issues Yellow Alert

Bhubaneswar: Residents of Odisha’s twin cities -Bhubaneswar and Cuttack – woke up to partly clouded skies on Thursday morning amid warning of thunderstorm with lightning and light to moderate rain.

Several parts of Odisha have been experiencing thunderstorm and lightning accompanied by rain since morning with a trough line passing through the middle and upper tropospheric levels under the influence of a westerly disturbance, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The weather agency has issued yellow warning of thunderstorm with lightning and light to moderate rain for some parts of Sundargarh, Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj till 1 pm. People have been advised to keep a watch on the weather and accordingly move to safer places.

It had earlier warned of thunderstorm accompanied by lightning, rain and gusty surface wind speed reaching 45 kmph in the blocks of Harabhanga-Boudh of Boudh district and the blocks of Angul-Athamalik-Kishorenagar-Talcher-Banarpal-Chendipada-Kaniha of Angul district between 6.30 am and 8 am.

Yellow warning of thunderstorm with lightning and light to moderate rain was also issued for Bargarh, Balangir, Sonepur, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Nuapada, Boudh, Angul, Keonjhar, Cuttack (including Cuttack city), Khurda (including Bhubaneswar), Dhenkanal and Deogarh between 7 am and 10 am.

In its 8 am bulletin, the IMD has predicted isolated light/moderate accompanied by thunderstorm and lightning for Odisha on April 11-12.

There is also a forecast for a gradual rise in the day temperature in the state by 3-4 degree Celsius after 2 days.

According to SOA’s Centre for Environment and Climate (CEC), the mercury is likely soar in Odisha from April 15. While the day temperature will rise in South Interior Odisha from April 14, the coastal belt will experience hot and humid conditions once the prevailing anti-cyclone system over Bay of Bengal ceases. By April 18, the mercury may hover around 42 to 44 degree Celsius at most places in the state, CEC director Sarat Sahu said.