Cyclone Ditwah: Heavy rain and winds forecast for coastal Andhra Pradesh

Vizag Cyclone Warning Centre Officer Jagannath Kumar has issued an alert as Cyclonic Storm Ditwah is set to intensify rainfall and wind conditions across coastal Andhra Pradesh for the next six days prompting advisories for fishermen and preparedness measures along the shorelineThe official has cautioned that northern and southern coastal districts will see varying phases of isolated to widespread rain accompanied by thunderstorms He added that fishermen have been warned against venturing into the sea due to strengthening squally windsSpeaking to ANI on Thursday Vizag Cyclone Warning Centre Officer said Under this system light to moderate rainfall is likely over coastal districts The spatial distribution of rainfall is likely to increase over the coastal district over the next six days especially in north coastal Andhra Pradesh he saidHe outlined a daybyday pattern for the northern belt dry weather on day one isolated showers on day two scattered rainfall on day three and fairly widespread rain on days four through six On the seventh day rainfall is expected to reduce to a scattered patternwidespread fairly widespread on the fourth fifth and sixth days and scattered rainfall is likely on the seventh day over the North coastal Andhra Pradesh districts In the South coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh isolated rain is likely on the first day scattered rainfall on the second day and widespread rainfall is very likely on the third fourth and fifth daysFor southern Coastal Andhra Pradesh he said isolated rain will appear on day one expanding to scattered showers on the second dayHowever on the first day the weather will be dry On the second day rainfall will be isolated On the third day it will be scattered and widespread rainfall is very likely on the third fourth and fifth days Thereafter it is likely to decrease in intensity and spatial distribution and it will be fairly widespread on the sixth day and scattered on the seventh day he addedThunderstorms accompanied by lightning are likely over coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema between the second and fifth days of the systems progressionThunderstorms and lightning are likely over coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema from the second day to the fifth day Squally weather with speeds of 35 to 45 is likely along and off the south coast of Andhra Pradesh on the first day Thereafter wind speeds are likely to increase along and off the coast of Andhra Pradesh Hence fishermen are advised not to venture into the sea areas along and off coastal Andhra Pradesh Kumar toldAuthorities have advised fishermen to avoid venturing into sea areas along the coastal belt until conditions improveMeanwhile on Thursday the India Meteorological Department IMD predicted that cold wave conditions would prevail in parts of Punjab according to IMD Scientist Naresh KumarThe IMD scientist provided weather updates for various regions of the country stating that due to a western disturbance over central Pakistan and nearby areas a cyclonelike situation is developing in southwest Rajasthan However the IMD Scientist does not anticipate any significant changes in the weather for northwest IndiaIn northwest India a pattern of western disturbance lies over central Pakistan and adjoining areas creating a cyclonelike situation in southwest Rajasthan We are not expecting any significant change in northwest India The weather has risen by over 2 degrees in the northwest during the last two days Overall no rainfall or snowfall is expected over the Himalayan region over the next 7 days though slight rainfall may occur in Rajasthan over the next 2 days Kumar told ANIFor Southern India IMD scientists said that due to a slight depression over the Bay of Bengal rainfall is expected in Tamil Nadu and Kerala and a red alert has been issued for November 28 and 29