IMD issues ‘Orange’ alert for Northeast amid impending rains & thunderstorms

KOHIMA: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an ‘Orange’ alert for the broader Northeast region, warning of an impending wet spell accompanied by thunderstorms and gusty winds from May 05 to May 09.

The peak intensity of the weather disturbance is anticipated on May 06 and 07.

The national weather agency highlighted an ‘orange’ alert, signalling “Be Prepared”, for the entire Northeast on May 05.

Subsequently, from May 06 to May 08, the alert level was downgraded to ‘yellow’, indicating “Be Updated”.

The IMD forecasted a high likelihood of fairly widespread to widespread, light to moderate rainfall accompanied by isolated thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds (ranging from 40-50 kmph) across Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura over the next five days.

Additionally, isolated instances of heavy rainfall are expected throughout the region from May 5 to May 7.

In specific regions such as Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura, there is a significant probability of “very heavy rainfall” between May 5 and May 6.

Moreover, on May 6, Meghalaya may experience “isolated extremely heavy rainfall”.