Chennai, Oct 25
The well-marked low-pressure area over the southeast Bay of Bengal intensified into a depression on Saturday and is expected to develop into a cyclonic storm named ‘Montha’ by Monday (October 27), according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
In its latest bulletin, the IMD said the system, currently centred around 990 km east-southeast of Chennai, is moving west-northwestwards and is likely to intensify into a deep depression by Sunday (October 26).
It is then forecast to become a cyclonic storm over the southwest and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal by early Monday morning. Once formed, Cyclone Montha is projected to move northwestwards towards the Andhra Pradesh coast, with a possible landfall between Machilipatnam and Visakhapatnam early next week.
The IMD has warned of heavy rain, strong winds, and rough sea conditions along the Andhra coast during the period of landfall. As a precautionary measure, storm warning cage No. 1 has been hoisted at nine ports in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, signalling that squally weather may affect coastal waters.