Cyclone Sitrang Tracking: First post-monsoon cyclone likely to form over South Andaman Sea after Oct 22

New Delhi, Oct 18: As the southwest monsoon retreats, this year's first cyclone is brewing over the South Andaman Sea and its neighbourhood is expected to witness copious rain.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said a low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify into a cyclone after October 22.

"It is likely to move west-northweswards and concentrate into a depression by October 22 morning over central Bay of Bengal. It is very likely to intensify further into a cyclonic storm over west-central BoB (Bay of Bengal) subsequently," it added.

However, the weather department quickly clarified the rumours and noted that it is too early to tell whether the system will likely intensify to severe conditions.

"Only after the low-pressure forms, we will be in a better position to forecast the areas which will be affected by the cyclone, its intensity and the areas which might get affected, including rainfall," IMD director-general Mrutunjay Mohapatra said.

'Cyclone Sitrang': Who named it? What it means?

The storm will be named 'Cyclone Sitrang', named by Thailand, in case the system intensifies into a cyclonic storm. It is a Thai's Surname. It is among the list of 169 storms listed by IMD in 2020. 'Amphan' was last in the list of names for cyclones complied in 2004 and a new panel of India, Bangladesh, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Yemen was formed in 2018 to decide the names of the future cyclones.

Despite varied projections, one thing for sure is that Odisha, West Bengal, and Andhra Pradesh will likely witness very heavy rains and strong winds between October 23 and 27.

On Tuesday, IMD confirmed the fresh low-pressure area (LPA) to form over the eastern Bay of Bengal in the next 48 hours and travel towards the Indian coast.