BHUBANESWAR: Breaking the spell of a seemingly unending heat wave, evening showers brought much-needed relief to the citizens of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack along with several other parts of the State on Tuesday.
Heavy to moderate rains pounded the Capital city and Cuttack while parts of districts like Balasore, Puri, Khurda, Nayagarh, Jagatsinghpur, Balangir, Koraput and Malkangiri witnessed Nor’wester induced thunderstorms and lightning.
A 12-year-old boy was reportedly injured in a village in Balangir following a thunderstorm that pulled down a marriage tent. Few areas of the Twin City also faced waterlogging due to the rain which continued till midnight.
The rains came at a time when the possibility of a system brewing in the Bay of Bengal in the next few days has begun to get stronger. The Odisha government on Tuesday said it is monitoring the situation closely as India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasts high chances of cyclone formation in the next four to five days.
Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) executive director Gyana Ranjan Das said no cyclone alert has been issued to the districts so far. However, they are monitoring the situation and will alert districts after IMD communicates them about the path of the system which is in the process of formation.
The IMD in its tropical weather outlook stated that the probability of cyclogenesis in the Bay of Bengal in the next 96-120 hours is ‘high’. As per its forecast, a cyclonic circulation is likely to form over the south Andaman Sea and its neighbourhood region around May 4, which may lead to the formation of a low-pressure area by May 6.
As low to medium clouds with intense convection has started developing over the South Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea, weather experts said it will soon decide the intensity of the system. The State under the influence of southwesterly winds from Bay of Bengal is also expected to witness lightning and thunderstorm activities with wind speed of around 40 to 50 kmph during the next four days. The office of the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) has asked all collectors as well as Agriculture and other departments to remain alert in this regard.
Met officials said light to moderate thunderstorm activities is expected to occur in parts of coastal Odisha as well as Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Kandhamal, Koraput, Nabarangpur and Malkangiri on Wednesday. As many as 19 met stations recorded a temperature of 40 degree Celsius and above on the day. Boudh recorded the highest 44.5 degree Celsius. The maximum temperature in Bhubaneswar was 39 degree Celsius.