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Cyclonic Storm Montha is now affecting the southwest and adjacent portions of the west central and southeast Bay of Bengal. As of 5:30 a.m., the storm was moving northwest at a pace of 15 kmph and was centered in latitude 12.2°N and longitude 85.3°E.
According to the most recent cyclone update, the storm is located approximately 560 kilometers east-southeast of Chennai (Tamil Nadu), 620 kilometers south-southeast of Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh), 650 kilometers south-southeast of Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), 790 kilometers south of Gopalpur (Odisha), and 810 kilometers west of Port Blair (Andaman and Nicobar Islands).
The storm is expected to continue moving northwestward across the southwest and adjoining westcentral Bay of Bengal over the next 12 hours before shifting to a north-northwestward trajectory.
The storm is projected to become a strong cyclonic storm by the morning of October 28 and make landfall between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam near Kakinada in the evening/night of October 28. At landfall, the storm is forecast to have maximum sustained winds of 90-100 kmph, gusting up to 110 kmph.
The IMD has issued alerts for various districts in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, predicting heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in the coming days. The storm is likely to have a considerable impact, with strong gusts, heavy rains, and storm surges possibly along the coast.
