**Bhubaneswar:** The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy rainfall in Odisha for the next two days. The rains, accompanied by thundershowers, will start from Monday night and expected to continue till Wednesday.
The IMD has warned heavy to very heavy rainfall in isolated pockets of 12 districts – Koraput, Rayagada, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Gajapati, Ganjam, Puri, Khurda, Cuttack, Nayagarh, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapada.
Due to low pressure area over north west Bay of Bengal off West Bengal coast and strong monsoon flow, fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea along and off Odisha coast and north west and adjoining west central Bay Of Bengal, during next 72 hours (upto August 16 morning), the IMD warned.
The heavy rain is being attributed to the upper air cyclonic circulation over north Odisha coast and its neighbourhood which now lies over north coastal Odisha and extends up to 7.6 km above the mean sea level.
“Under the influence of the cyclonic circulation a low pressure area has been formed over the north-west Bay of Bengal and its neighbourhood which will last for the next 24 hours. Due to this low pressure the entire State will experience moderate to heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms,” IMD Bhubaneswar Director HR Biswas said.