Odisha Braces for Heavy Rains & Hailstorms till April 30; Orange Alert Issued!

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicts scattered to fairly widespread rainfall of light to moderate intensity, accompanied with thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds, for the next five days- from Friday to next Tuesday, April 28 to May 2.

For the next 24 hours, Odisha, in particular, will experience isolated heavy downpours (64.5 mm-115.5 mm). In addition, hailstorms are expected to hit isolated spots around the state during the following three days.

Raindrops are driven upward into extremely cold parts of the sky, resulting in hailstorms. This causes them to freeze, and when the updrafts can no longer sustain their weight, hail falls. Based on these forecasts, the IMD issued an orange alert ('be prepared' for severe weather) across Odisha on Friday, followed by a yellow watch ('be aware' of local weather) for the next four days.

Due to the high likelihood of heavy rainfall, the IMD's Bhubaneswar-based Regional Met Centre issued orange advisories for Narabangapur, Kalahandi, Rayagarha, Kandhamal, Gajapathi, and Ganjam districts on Friday. Other central districts will be on yellow alert for the rest of the day.

The yellow alert will then include the eastern and southern districts on Saturday, practically the entire state on Sunday, and the eastern and southern districts again at the start of next week. Rains and thunderstorms are expected in Bhubaneswar over the next three days, followed by largely dry and gloomy conditions the following week.

The daytime temperatures across Odisha will stay normal to below normal during this projection period because to wet weather and chilly upper air stagnating over the subcontinent, according to IMD.

Overall, this upcoming rainstorm will only add to Odisha's above-average rainfall this month. Between April 1 and April 27, the state received 58.4 mm of precipitation, a 'large excess' of 88% of its long-term average for this period (31 mm).