Met denies cyclone rumours, issues rain warning for state

Bhubaneswar: The India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) regional centre here on Wednesday ruled out the chances of any cyclone over the Bay of Bengal between October 18 and 25 and advised people to stay away from spreading rumours.
However, the weather office has issued a yellow warning of rain and thundershowers in most of the districts across Odisha till Saturday. The IMD said it has neither forecast nor shared information on any cyclone and it is scientifically incorrect to forecast any such weather condition before seven days. “There is no possibility of a cyclone in seven days and there is no threat to Odisha,” IMD director general Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said.
He added that a cyclonic circulation developed over the north Andaman sea on Tuesday and the system will move towards west-northwest and weaken gradually. Another cyclonic circulation may form over the north Andaman sea and the Bay of Bengal around October 17-18 and move towards Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. There is no possibility of the system intensifying into a cyclone,” Mohapatra said. The IMD’s statement came after several media reports claimed the possibility of a very severe cyclone over the Bay of Bengal as per the US weather forecast model Global Forecast System between October 18 and October 25. The rumoured cyclone, Sitrang, might make a landfall between Andhra Pradesh and Bangladesh, the reports said.
“A cyclone cannot be predicted based upon a single weather model. I request people to trust the official weather forecast and don’t believe in rumours.”