Bhubaneswar: Cyclonic storm 'Arnab' has formed over the Bay of Bengal and is likely to intensify into a very severe cyclonic storm by October 27, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Monday.

The storm is likely to bring strong winds to several southern Odisha districts, with wind speeds likely to reach 60-70 kmph and gusts up to 80 kmph from the early hours of October 28.

According to the IMD's morning bulletin, the deep depression over the eastcentral and adjoining southeast Bay of Bengal moved westwards before intensifying into cyclonic storm 'Arnab'.

At 5.30 am on October 26, the storm was centred over the eastcentral and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal, near latitude 15.4°N and longitude 88.9°E. It was located around 610 km southeast of Gopalpur in Odisha and 590 km northwest of Sri Vijaya Puram in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The weather system was also situated about 650 km east-southeast of Visakhapatnam, 730 km east-southeast of Kakinada, 830 km east of Machilipatnam and 910 km east of Bapatla in Andhra Pradesh.

Cyclone likely to intensify further

The IMD said Cyclone 'Arnab' is very likely to move west-northwestwards and intensify into a severe cyclonic storm over the west-central Bay of Bengal by midnight on October 26. It is likely to strengthen further into a very severe cyclonic storm over the same region on October 27.

The storm is then expected to move northwestwards and cross the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, close to Yanam, by the forenoon of October 28. At the time of landfall, the cyclone is likely to have maximum sustained wind speeds of 115-125 kmph, with gusts reaching 140 kmph, the IMD said.

Southern Odisha districts likely to experience strong winds

The IMD has forecasted squally winds of 40-50 kmph, gusting to 60 kmph, over the interior districts of southern Odisha and southern Chhattisgarh from the night of October 27.

Wind speeds are likely to increase to 60-70 kmph, with gusts reaching 80 kmph, from the early hours of October 28 in Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput and Malkangiri districts of Odisha. These conditions are likely to continue until the night of October 28.

Winds are expected to weaken gradually thereafter, with squally winds of 50-60 kmph and gusts up to 70 kmph forecast for the morning of October 29 before conditions gradually improve.