Bay of Bengal to stay active through next week

The area of low pressure in the southern Bay of Bengal has strengthened to a well-marked low. This well-marked low can become a depression before striking northern Tamil Nadu on Thursday.

Courtesy IMD

Winds can gust as high as 80-100 km/h (50-60 mph) along the northern coast of Tamil Nadu and southern Andhra Pradesh, but the main impacts from this system will be heavy rainfall and areas of flash flooding across Andhra Pradesh and northern Tamil Nadu on Wednesday evening and Thursday. Heavy rain can reach portions of Karnataka on Thursday.

Rainfall of 100-200 mm (4-8 inches) is expected along the northern coast of Tamil Nadu and southern coast of Andhra Pradesh Wednesday night and Thursday with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 300 mm (12 inches). A general rainfall of 50-100 mm (2-4 inches) is expected across the rest of southern Andhra Pradesh and northern Tamil Nadu into Karnataka through Thursday. The combination of heavy rain and gusty winds can result in scattered power outages and travel disruptions.

Rainfall will wind down in southern India on Friday, but scattered lighter rains will continue through the weekend. Meanwhile, AccuWeather.com meteorologists will be keeping an eye on the Bay of Bengal.

Conditions look conducive for another area of low pressure to develop in the Andaman Sea or in the vicinity of the Andaman Islands this weekend. Warm water and favorable conditions can allow this low to strengthen as it tracks west or northwest across the Bay of Bengal early next week.

The low can reach depression intensity or stronger before making landfall later next week. The exact track remains unclear, but the favored areas for impacts look to be from northern Tamil Nadu to Odisha. However, interests from Sri Lanka to Bangladesh should monitor. The main threats will again be heavy rainfall and flooding along the path of the system. Damaging winds could be an issue depending on intensity once it reaches land.