Cyclone Sitrang Alert! Odisha, Bengal to Receive Heavy Rainfall, Wind up to 60 kmph on Diwali

By October 24, a low-pressure region over the Bay of Bengal is forecast to become a cyclonic storm. The IMD predicts that West Bengal and Odisha will see widespread, heavy rainfall as a result of the weather system. The potential cyclone has been given the name "Sitrang" by Thailand.

"Over the southeast-adjacent east-central Bay of Bengal, the Well-Marked Low-Pressure Area condensed into a Depression. By the morning of October 23, it is quite likely to become a Deep Depression across east-central and the nearby southeast Bay of Bengal. Then, by October 24 morning, it is very likely to gradually recurve north-northeastwards and intensify into a Cyclonic Storm over the center of the Bay of Bengal "On Saturday afternoon, the Indian Meteorological Department published a statement in its official bulletin.

The IMD has advised avoiding fishing in the deep water off the shores of Odisha and Bengal between October 23 and 26, as well as the central Bay of Bengal beginning on Saturday.

The deputy director-general of the Regional Meteorological Centre in Kolkata, Sanjib Bandopadhyay, claims that in some places, winds may exceed 100 kmph (gusting to 110 kmph).

On October 24, isolated areas in the North-24 Parganas and South-24 Parganas districts of West Bengal will receive heavy to very heavy rainfall, while Paschim Medinipur may have heavy showers. Nadia, North 24 Parganas, and South 24 Parganas are predicted to have significant rains the following day. On both days, there may be light to moderate rain in Kolkata, Howrah, and Hooghly.

The Regional Meteorological Center in Bhubaneswar has issued a heavy rainfall warning for the districts of Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Jajpur, Keonjhar, Cuttack, and Khurda.

State-wise Rainfall Forecast

• Rainfall that is scattered or only moderately widespread, with a few isolated heavy showers of rain, is quite likely to fall over Odisha and Gangetic West Bengal on October 24 and 25, 2022. On October 24 and 25, 2022, Gangetic West Bengal is also highly likely to get a few isolated, very strong downpours.
• Over the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, widespread light to moderate rainfall with a few isolated heavy showers of rain is likely from October 22 through 24, with a few very heavy falls on that date.
• Fairly widespread/Widespread light to moderate rainfall with isolated heavy showers and thunderstorms/lightning is expected throughout Arunachal Pradesh on October 24 and 25, Assam and Meghalaya from October 24 to 26, and Mizoram and Tripura from October 23 to 26. On October 24 and 25, as well as on October 22 in Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura, isolated extremely heavy rainfall is also quite likely to fall over Arunachal Pradesh. On October 25, 2022, isolated, extremely heavy falls are also very likely to occur over southern Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura.
• On October 22, fairly widespread light to moderate rain is very likely to fall over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karaikal, Kerala, and Mahe, along with a few isolated heavy falls, thunderstorms, and lightning.