BHUBANESWAR: A low-pressure area, lying over the Gulf of Thailand, is expected to move to the Andaman sea in the next 12 hours and power up into a cyclonic storm that will head towards South Odisha and North Andhra coast on December 4.
The system is likely to move west-northwestwards and concentrate into a depression over the central Bay of Bengal by December 2.
Intensifying further, it will turn into a cyclonic storm by December 3 night, Director General of IMD Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said on Tuesday.
Once a tropical storm, the system will get its name ‘Jawad’. The system, as per the IMD bulletin, is expected to move further in a northwestward direction and reach south Odisha and north Andhra Pradesh coast by December 4 morning.
As of now, there is little clarity on its projected course.
A clear picture will emerge after it turns into a depression on December 2, the national weather forecaster said.
There are various models projecting different paths - starting from landfall near Srikakulam to south of Gopalpur before curving into the land.
Some even suggest that it may run close to the Odisha heading northwards after reaching the coast.
Under influence of the system, however, rainfall activity will also start in Odisha’s south coastal districts from December 3 evening and continue till December 5. Heavy showers are predicted too.
The formation of the weather system during this period is normal as October-December is the cyclone season in the Bay of Bengal.