'Kalbaisakhi' pummels Odisha, orange alert issued

Nor'wester with gusty wind and moderate to heavy rain battered Odisha in the early hours of Tuesday, the Met office said. The maximum temperature fell by around 2-5 degree Celsius at some places and was significantly below normal in many areas in wake of the squall, which also led to power cuts in several regions.

Only four weather stations, as compared to 10 the previous day, recorded a temperature of over 40 degrees Celsius, the Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre said.

Dhenkanal town received 67.6 mm of precipitation, the highest in the state, followed by 59 at Karanjia in Mayurbhanj, according to a bulletin.


Kalbaisakhi (nor'wester), along with moderate rain, lashed Jajpur, Deogarh, Angul, Gajapati, Sambalpur and many other districts in coastal and western Odisha.

Boudh recorded 43 degree Celsius, followed by 42.2 in Bolangir.

The mercury dropped by three notches below average each to settle at 34.2 degrees in capital Bhubaneswar and 34.8 in Cuttack, it said.

The Met issued an orange alert of heavy rain and thunderstorm with gusty wind for Dhenkanal, Jajpur, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Khurda till Wednesday morning.

There will be no large change in the maximum temperature in interior Odisha during the next three days. It will rise subsequently by 2-3 degrees at a few places, the weather office said.

Light to moderate rain is likely in Odisha over the next three days under the influence of a western disturbance, it added.