Cyclone Arnab is expected to cross the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coast between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, very close to Yanam, as a very severe cyclonic storm with sustained winds of 125–135 kmph and gusts reaching 150 kmph, the India Meteorological Department said on Tuesday.
IMD Bhubaneswar Director Manorama Mohanty said the cyclone was located around 380 km south of Gopalpur when the forecast was issued. It was expected to move west-northwestwards until the evening of October 27 and then turn northwestwards, according to the weather agency’s assessment cited in the report.
Mohanty said the system was likely to maintain its intensity at the time of landfall. The projected track places the storm along a densely settled and infrastructure-dependent stretch of the Andhra coast, with the forecast covering the coastal belt between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam and the Union Territory region of Yanam.
The wind forecast places the cyclone in the very severe cyclonic storm category. Sustained winds of up to 135 kmph, with stronger gusts, can create serious operating conditions for roads, power networks, communications infrastructure and other exposed public assets. The supplied IMD forecast does not provide details on possible damage, evacuations, port closures or transport restrictions, so those operational measures remain unestablished in the available information.
The cyclone’s projected movement also carries a wider regional weather impact. Mohanty said Odisha was expected to receive widespread rainfall with heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places on Tuesday. Similar rainfall was forecast for the following day, with extremely heavy rainfall possible at isolated locations, along with intense thunderstorms and lightning.
The IMD official advised people in Odisha to take precautions, particularly as thunderstorms, lightning and intense rainfall were expected. The report does not specify the number of people likely to be affected, the precise landfall time or the preparedness measures ordered by Andhra Pradesh, Yanam or Odisha authorities.
The forecast makes the cyclone’s next movement and the response of local administrations the immediate operational milestones. The IMD said Arnab would first continue west-northwestwards before moving northwestwards, with landfall expected along the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coast near Yanam.
