Several regions across India are expected to experience heavy rainfall on Wednesday, September 23, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasting heavy to very heavy rain and isolated extremely heavy rainfall in parts of central and southern India.
The forecast comes as the southwest monsoon continues its gradual retreat from northwest India. At the same time, a depression over the Bay of Bengal is moving west-northwestwards and is expected to strengthen further.
The weather system is likely to cross the north Andhra Pradesh-South Odisha coasts between Visakhapatnam and Gopalpur during the night of September 23 and the early hours of September 24.
HEAVY RAIN OVER CENTRAL AND SOUTH INDIA
The IMD has predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall, including isolated extremely heavy rain, over Chhattisgarh, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Telangana on September 23.
Isolated heavy rainfall is also expected in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya, Bihar, parts of Karnataka, Jharkhand, Kerala, Konkan and Goa, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Sikkim.
The depression over the Bay of Bengal is expected to be the main driver behind the most intense rainfall.
Thundersqualls with wind speeds of 50-60 kmph are also likely at isolated locations in Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Telangana.
Several other states may also experience thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds.
WILL IT RAIN IN DELHI-NCR?
Delhi, Haryana and much of northwest India are expected to see relatively subdued weather on Wednesday.
According to the IMD's rainfall forecast, Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi is expected to remain dry on September 23, while isolated rainfall is possible over West Uttar Pradesh.
The dry conditions coincide with the southwest monsoon's retreat from the region.
The IMD said conditions are favourable for the monsoon to withdraw further from the remaining parts of Punjab and Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi, as well as some areas of Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Uttar Pradesh over the next two days.
Meanwhile, weather conditions will remain markedly different in other parts of the country.
Fairly widespread rainfall is expected over Assam and Meghalaya, while Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Telangana will continue to be affected by the depression over the Bay of Bengal.
The IMD has also warned of a low to moderate flash-flood risk in parts of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh until the morning of September 23, particularly across certain watersheds and adjoining areas.
While the monsoon has begun winding down in some parts of the country, several other regions are still expected to experience another spell of rain and strong winds.
