The cyclonic storm ‘Montha’ which was centered in the Bay of Bengal about 530 km south-southwest of Gopalpur, was moving towards Andhra Pradesh and was likely to cross the coast south of Visakhapatnam between 11 pm and 1 am on Tuesday night, the Centre for Environment and Climate (CEC) of SOA Deemed to be University here, said.
The wind speed of the cyclone at the time of landfall is expected to be between 75-85 km per hour, a CEC bulletin said.
The system, which was moving at a speed of 12 km per hour, will also pass through Odisha’s Malkangiri, Koraput and Nabarangpur districts where the wind speed will be between 40-50 km per hour.
Under its influence, heavy to very heavy rainfall will be experienced in the districts of Malkangiri, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Gajapati, Kalahandi, Kandhamal and Rayagada on Tuesday night and on Wednesday, the bulletin said.
Heavy precipitation may also occur in the districts of Balangir, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj and Deogarh. The coastal districts may experience light to moderate spells of rain during the period, it said.