Cyclone Arnab leaves Andhra: These states on alert for heavy rain, gusty winds

Cyclone Arnab has weakened after crossing the Andhra Pradesh coast, but its impact continues to be felt across central and eastern India, where several states are bracing for heavy rain.The weather system has moved inland, already bringing downpours to parts of Odisha, with more rain forecast across several other states in the coming days. Coconut trees sway amid gusty winds and rainfall triggered by Cyclone Arnab, in Puri, Odisha. (Photo: PTI) The India Meteorological Department (IMD), in its bulletin issued on Thursday, October 29, said the system had weakened into a depression over south Chhattisgarh and adjoining south Odisha.At 8:30 am, it was centred around 40 km north-northwest of Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh and was moving northwards. The system is expected to weaken further into a well-marked low-pressure area over north Chhattisgarh and adjoining northwestern Odisha by Thursday evening. An electric pole lies uprooted on the road following the landfall of Cyclone Arnab. (Photo: PTI) WHICH STATES WILL GET RAIN NEXT?Chhattisgarh is likely to receive heavy to very heavy rain at isolated places on Thursday, with some areas potentially seeing extremely heavy rainfall. Jharkhand is also expected to receive heavy to very heavy rain at isolated places, while Bihar could see similar conditions on Thursday and Friday, October 30.In Madhya Pradesh, nine eastern districts, including Sidhi, Singrauli, Rewa, Mauganj, Satna, Maihar, Shahdol, Umaria and Anuppur, were forecast to receive heavy to very heavy rain on Thursday, accompanied by gusty winds of 40–50 kmph.Furthermore, rain is expected to continue in eastern parts of the state on Friday before conditions improve on Saturday. Vehicles ply on a road amid heavy rainfall caused by Cyclone Arnab. (Photo: PTI) Eastern Uttar Pradesh is forecast to receive heavy to very heavy rain on Thursday, with heavy rain likely in parts of northeastern Uttar Pradesh on Friday. It won't end there as the IMD has forecast isolated heavy rainfall on Saturday.Odisha is likely to see isolated heavy rainfall on Thursday, while parts of Gangetic West Bengal and the Sub-Himalayan regions of West Bengal and Sikkim are also expected to receive heavy rain.WHY WILL IT RAIN EVEN AFTER CYCLONE WEAKENED?Although Arnab is no longer a cyclone, its remaining circulation can continue to draw moisture into the atmosphere and trigger rainfall as it moves inland.The system crossed the Andhra Pradesh coast on October 28 as a very severe cyclonic storm before weakening over land. A satellite image shows Cyclone Arnab moving inland. (Photo: IMD) By late Wednesday night, it had weakened into a deep depression, with wind speeds falling substantially, but Andhra Pradesh is not entirely out of the rain threat yet.The IMD has forecast isolated heavy rainfall over the north Andhra coast on Thursday, even as the system moves farther inland.The weakening storm is expected to lose strength further by Thursday evening, but heavy rain could continue in parts of central and eastern India even after the system becomes a low-pressure area.- Ends