Cyclone Ashobaa to bring heavy rain to TN, AP

After slight respite from the downpour, a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal, which is likely to intensify into a cyclone, is expected to bring heavy rain in the next 48 hours in Tamil Nadu (TN) and neighbouring states.

The Met department has predicted that the storm is expected to cross Andhra Pradesh (AP) coast on Saturday night.

After “Hudhud” ravaged AP, the new cyclone to be named as “Ashobaa”, as suggested by Sri Lanka, is also expected to hit the region.

Commissioner for disaster management and principal secretary to AP government said that the depression over the central Bay of Bengal moved north-northwestwards during the last six hours, intensified into a deep depression and lay centered at 8:30 am on Thursday over the central Bay of Bengal near latitude 14°N and longitude 87°E, about 670 km west-northwest of Port Blair, 580 km south-east of Vishakhapatnam and 700 km south- southeast of Paradip.

"The depression over central Bay of Bengal, which moved in north-west direction in the last six hours, intensified into a deep depression and lay centered near Port Blair. The system would move westwards towards AP coast on November 8. Under its influence, heavy rain is expected to occur over TN, Puducherry and AP in the next 48 hours,” a senior Met official told Deccan Herald on Thursday.

The official said that storm warning signal number two was hoisted at Chennai, Cuddalore and Nagapattinam ports and distant cautionary flag number one hoisted at Puducherry and Karaikal ports.