Thunderstorm, Lightning Likely In Odisha Over 3 Days; IMD Issues Orange & Yellow Warnings

Bhubaneswar: Amid rising temperatures across Odisha, several parts of the state are likely to encounter thunderstorm coupled with lightning and gusty surface wind over the next three days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Saturday.

As per the weather agency, thunderstorm with lightning and gusty surface wind reaching speeds of 30–40 kmph may occur at some places in Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapada, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Khurda, Nayagarh, Ganjam, Gajapati, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Angul, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Boudh, Kandhamal, Bargarh and Sonepur districts by Sunday morning. A yellow warning has been issued for these districts.

An orange warning has been issued for Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Balasore and Sundargarh districts between Sunday morning and Monday morning, indicating the likelihood of more intense weather activity.

The weather agency also forecast thunderstorms with lightning and gusty winds of 30–40 kmph at some places in Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Balasore and Bhadrak districts during the period from 8.30 am on March 9 to 8.30 am on March 10.

An upper air cyclonic circulation persists over Odisha and its neighbourhood, extending up to 1.5 km above mean sea level, which is influencing the weather conditions in the region.

This apart, a trough extends from the cyclonic circulation over Odisha to northwest Uttar Pradesh across north Chhattisgarh and northeast Madhya Pradesh at about 0.9 km above mean sea level.