A well-marked low-pressure area over the southeast Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify into a depression within six hours and further into a cyclonic storm within 24 hours, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Saturday, October 31.
Source: India Meteorological Department via The Times of Bengal
If the system strengthens into a cyclone, it will be named Murasu — Tamil for 'drum', a name contributed by India. The system was centred about 1,140 km east-southeast of Chennai and 1,200 km south-east of Machilipatnam, the IMD said.
Source: The Hindu BusinessLine
What Tamil Nadu should expect
The IMD has forecast isolated heavy rainfall over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal on Monday and Tuesday. Heavy rain is likely at isolated places in Tiruvallur district, according to the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Chennai.
Source: Mirror Now
V. R. Durai, director of the Area Cyclone Warning Centre at the RMC in Chennai, said the storm's outer rain bands are expected to extend over the northern coast of Tamil Nadu. For Chennai, Sunday is forecast to bring light to moderate rainfall under partly cloudy skies, with temperatures between 33-34°C and 25-26°C.
Squally winds of up to 60 kmph are expected along the Andhra Pradesh, north Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coasts from the evening of November 1. The system is expected to move west-northwestwards and reach the west-central Bay of Bengal near the Andhra Pradesh coast by the evening of November 2, with winds likely between 80 and 90 kmph, gusting to 100 kmph, IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra told news agency PTI.
The warning comes barely four days after very severe Cyclone Arnab made landfall near the Narsapuram coast. Residents in coastal districts have been advised to follow the latest IMD bulletins for confirmed warnings and safety instructions.