The IMD said a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal may become Cyclone Murasu within six hours. The storm is likely to hit the Andhra Pradesh coast on November 3. IMD chief Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said, “Our forecast is for a cyclonic storm, which should hit the Andhra coastline.”
The weather system, which moved west-northwestwards at a speed of 23 kmph over the past six hours, was centred over the Southeast and adjoining Southwest Bay of Bengal at 5.30 am on November 1. It was located around 700 km east-southeast of Chennai, 770 km south-southeast of Visakhapatnam and Machilipatnam, and 810 km east-southeast of Ongole.
Days after Andhra Pradesh was battered by Cyclone Arnab, high-speed winds are expected to hit the coastal state by November 3. The IMD said on Saturday that a low-pressure area over Bay of Bengal was intensifying and was likely to develop into a cyclone by November 2.
Cyclone likely to make landfall on November 3
The storm is likely to make landfall along the Andhra Pradesh coast in the early hours of November 3, IMD director general Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said. Winds of 80-90 kmph, gusting up to 100 kmph, are likely, he added.
Cyclone to be named ‘Murasu’ if it develops
If the weather system fully develops into a cyclone, it will be named Murasu, meaning ‘drum’ in Tamil, HT reported earlier. The name was proposed by India.
Below-normal rainfall, above-normal temperatures likely in November
Mohapatra, during a virtual press conference, also said below-normal rainfall and above-normal temperatures were likely across most parts of the country in November. October 2026, meanwhile, was the hottest October since 1901 in terms of the country's average maximum temperature.
“At present, we expect this to form into a cyclonic storm. Once formed, it will be named as Murasu. There is a slight possibility it may turn into a severe cyclonic storm too, but at present, our forecast is for a cyclonic storm, which should hit the Andhra coastline on the morning of November 3,” Mohapatra said.