The India Meteorological Department (IMD), on Monday, advised residents in the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha to remain alert and take necessary precautions, as Cyclone Montha is expected to bring strong winds, rough sea conditions, and intense rainfall over the next few days.
The IMD said that Cyclonic Storm Montha is likely to intensify over the southwest and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal and is expected to turn into a severe cyclonic storm by Tuesday morning while crossing the Andhra Pradesh coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam, around Kakinada, during the evening or night. The storm is expected to bring maximum sustained winds of 90–100 kmph, gusting up to 110 kmph, and trigger widespread rainfall across eastern and southern India.
Under the influence of the cyclonic system and a depression over the east-central Arabian Sea, the IMD has forecast extremely heavy rainfall over coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam from October 27 to 29, southern Odisha on October 28 and 29, and Chhattisgarh on October 28.
Parts of Saurashtra and Kutch are also likely to experience extremely heavy downpours on October 27. Additionally, very heavy rainfall is expected over Kerala, Mahe, Odisha, Coastal Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Rayalaseema, Telangana, Vidarbha, sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, Meghalaya, and eastern Rajasthan during different periods between October 27 and November 1.
During the past 24 hours (ending at 8:30 a.m. on October 27), Saurashtra and Kutch recorded isolated extremely heavy rainfall, while heavy to very heavy rainfall occurred over parts of Gujarat, Konkan, Goa, and coastal Karnataka. Kerala, coastal Andhra Pradesh, central Maharashtra, eastern Rajasthan, and Lakshadweep also reported heavy showers.
IMD defines heavy rain as rainfall between 64.5 mm and 115.5 mm, very heavy rain as rainfall between 115.6 mm and 204.4 mm, and extremely heavy rain as rainfall exceeding 204.4 mm.
Meanwhile, Delhi-NCR is likely to witness a brief spell of very light rain or drizzle between Monday evening and Tuesday morning due to a Western Disturbance affecting the Western Himalayan region and adjoining northern plains. The national capital will experience partly to generally cloudy skies, with maximum temperatures ranging between 28°C and 31°C and minimum temperatures between 16°C and 20°C through October 30. Light mist or shallow fog is expected during morning hours, while surface winds will vary mainly between southeast and northeast directions at speeds of up to 20 kmph.