The Cyclone Warning Centre (CWC), Visakhapatnam, issued an orange alert for Kakinada and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema districts in Andhra Pradesh and Yanam, warning of moderate thunderstorms accompanied by lightning, gusty winds of 40-50 kmph and moderate rainfall at one or two places over the next few hours.

The orange alert follows a yellow alert issued by CWC in the morning for 11 districts of Andhra Pradesh, forecasting light thunderstorms accompanied by lightning, gusty winds of 30-40 kmph and light rainfall at a few places.

The districts covered by the yellow alert are Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema, West Godavari, Krishna, Bapatla, Prakasam, Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore, Chittoor, Tirupati, Annamayya, YSR Kadapa and Sri Sathya Sai.

In a weather update based on observations at 5.30 a.m. on Thursday, the CWC said an upper air cyclonic circulation over the North Andaman Sea had moved west-northwestwards and lay over the sea off the Andaman Islands.

Under its influence, a low-pressure area is very likely to form over the southeast and adjoining east-central Bay of Bengal around October 23. It is then likely to move west-northwestwards and intensify further, the CWC said.

The Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority has warned of the possibility of heavy rainfall along coastal Andhra Pradesh next week and advised people to remain alert and follow official weather updates.