Bhubaneswar: Odisha is likely to witness heavy rainfall across several districts as a low pressure area is expected to form over the coastal areas of Gangetic West Bengal and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal during the next 12 hours, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in its morning bulletin on Saturday.

According to the IMD, an upper air cyclonic circulation over south Gangetic West Bengal and adjoining Bangladesh, extending up to 7.6 km above mean sea level, persists. Under its influence, the low pressure area is likely to develop over the region.

The system is very likely to move west-northwestwards along the monsoon trough during the subsequent 48 hours, passing across Gangetic West Bengal, adjoining North Odisha, Jharkhand and North Chhattisgarh.

Orange warning for six districts

The IMD has issued an orange warning for six Odisha districts, forecasting heavy to very heavy rainfall at one or two places. The districts are Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj.

Several other districts have been placed under a yellow warning for heavy rainfall. These include Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Deogarh, Angul, Dhenkanal, Subarnapur, Boudh, Nuapada and Balangir.

Thunderstorm and gusty winds

The weather office has also warned of thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty surface winds in several parts of the state. Wind speeds may reach 30 to 40 kmph at one or two places.

The warning covers Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Angul, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Subarnapur, Boudh, Nuapada, Balangir, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, Gajapati, Ganjam, Puri, Khordha and Nayagarh.