Bhubaneswar, July 21: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday issued an Orange Warning for five districts of Odisha, forecasting heavy to very heavy rainfall over the next 24 hours as active monsoon conditions continue to influence weather across the state.

According to the IMD's midday bulletin, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Bargarh, Sambalpur and Nuapada are likely to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall till 8.30 am on July 22. A Yellow Warning has also been issued for Balasore, Deogarh, Angul, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Sonepur, Boudh, Balangir, Kalahandi, Kandhamal and Nabarangpur, where heavy rainfall is expected at isolated places.

The weather department has also predicted thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty surface winds reaching 30-40 kmph in nearly 20 districts, including Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Balasore, Angul and Dhenkanal.

The IMD said light to moderate rainfall or thundershowers are likely to continue across all districts of Odisha until July 28. Heavy rainfall is expected to persist in parts of northern and western Odisha between July 22 and July 27, while thunderstorm activity may continue until at least July 26.

Meteorologists attributed the prevailing weather conditions to the active monsoon trough extending from Sri Ganganagar to the northwest Bay of Bengal, along with another trough stretching from an upper air cyclonic circulation over the west-central Bay of Bengal across south Odisha to the northeast Arabian Sea.

During the 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Tuesday, widespread rainfall was recorded across Odisha. Kakatpur in Puri district received the highest rainfall of 11 cm, followed by Deogaon in Jharsuguda and Banaigarh in Sundargarh, which recorded 10 cm each.

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