With as many as 15 lives, including 9 minors, having fallen victim to lightning strikes in Odisha during the first quarter of the financial year 2021-22, and when in Odisha the conversion of cloud to ground strike is highest, the top weather alert is lightning to strike almost 8 districts in the State at around the same hour.
The State is going to witness intense lightning activities from July 19-21, as another low-pressure area will take shape near the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh coast over the west-central Bay of Bengal on July 21. The low-pressure area will then extend over Odisha by July 22-23. As a consequence, heavy rain will batter the coasts from Gopalpur to Balasore. Even, the north interior districts will also record significant rainfall on July 23.
Here are the details of the lightning forecast by ECMWF.
- Lightning activities on July 15 --- Forecast of lightning at few places in districts of Puri, Khordha, Cuttack, Jagatsighpur and Bhadrak at around 11:30 hours in the morning.
- At night 10:30 hrs, lightning predicted at many places in districts of Balangir and Sonepur.
- At midnight, probability of lightning activity in and around Berhampur.
- July 16 at around noon hours (12:30 pm), lightning forecast at few places in Kendrapada, Cuttack and Jagatsinghpur districts.
- At 3:30 pm, lightning forecast for places like Cuttack and few places in the Ganjam district.
- July 17, At 3:30 pm, the forecast of lightning exists for places like Cuttack, Bhadrak, Aska, and a few places in Kalahandi, Rayagada, Koraput etc
- At 11:30 hrs on the night of July 17, many places in Bargarh and adjacent areas in Sambalpur may witness lightning activity.
- July 18 at around 8 pm: severe thunderstorm warning for many places in Balangir district. And a light to moderate in districts of Kalahandi, Bargarh, Sonepur, Nuapada.
- At around 11 hrs, the lightning activity will shift to Sundargarh and Deogarh.
- July 19, between 8- 12 pm, lightning activity predicted for as many as 8 districts, including severe warnings at few places in the Cuttack district.
- The 8 districts are Cuttack, Khordha, Kalahandi, Balangir, Keonjhar, Jajpur, Dhenkanal etc.
- July 21, at around 11 in the morning, heavy rain prediction for places in Kandhamal, Gajapati and Kalahandi. And Severe lightning predicted at places in Puri, Khordha and Jagatsinghpur districts.