The meteorological simulation of the upper-air circulation is likely to develop into a cyclonic storm in the next two days; Cyclone Dana will reach West Bengal and Odisha in the coastal area on Thursday, 24th October, with heavy rains. IMD reports, “Under its influence, low pressure is very probable over the east-central bay of Bengal and the adjoining north Andaman Sea during the next 24 hours. Thus, it is predicted that the shift west-northwestwards will further strengthen into a depression by the morning of October 22 and develop into a cyclonic storm over the east-central Bay of Bengal by October 23.”
It is after its formation that the system is likely to move in the NW direction and issue a call very close to the coasts of Odisha and West Bengal by the early morning of 24th October over the northwest Bay of Bengal. Along the Odisha and West Bengal coastline, wind speeds are expected to rise from 60 km/h on October 23 to a high of 120 km/h between the night of October 24 and the morning of October 25. Fishermen have been warned against going out to sea from October 23 because of turbulent waters.
The Odisha government has already started making preparations for the cyclone. On receiving reports, Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja convened a meeting with top government officials where he directed district collectors to prepare the Cyclone Shelters facing for possible evacuations. However, Manorama Mohanty, the Director of IMD’s Bhubaneswar center, has declared that there is no possibility of the cyclonic storm turning into a super cyclonic storm or an extremely severe cyclonic storm. But it may upgrade into a very severe Cyclone Dana with a wind speed ranging from 100 to 120 kilometers per hour.
An alert for thunderstorms with lightning has been sounded for the following districts: Bhadrak, Balasore, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Rayagada, Gajapati, Ganjam, Kandhamal, Nayagarh, Khurda and Puri.
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