Severe Cyclonic Storm Murasu was forecast to cross south Andhra Pradesh, while weather disruptions affected flights in Chennai and Visakhapatnam.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast the storm to cross between Nellore and Narsapur, south of Ongole, between 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. ET Monday (18:00–22:30 UTC), or late Monday into early Tuesday in India. It projected sustained winds of 100 to 110 km/h, with gusts up to 120 km/h.
Chennai Airport, operated by Airports Authority of India (AAI), posted a notice listing weather-related cancellations for Monday. The Times of India and DT NEXT counted 11 canceled flights on the airport’s list, serving Vijayawada, Rajahmundry, Kadapa and Tiruchirappalli. The airport asked passengers to contact their airlines.
IndiGo said adverse weather had affected its flight operations in Visakhapatnam and warned passengers they could face delays before departure and aboard aircraft. Its advisory did not give a cancellation count.
The IMD recorded 12 to 21 centimeters of rain across Tamil Nadu in the 24 hours ending at 10 p.m. ET Sunday (03:00 UTC Monday; 8:30 a.m. IST Monday). It forecast heavy to very heavy rain Monday and Tuesday in Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Rayalaseema and Telangana, and Monday in Tamil Nadu. The agency warned heavy rain and squally winds could affect road and rail traffic. In its Monday report, NDTV Profit described rail services as having no reported interruptions at that point.
The IMD also warned that a storm surge of about 1.5 to 2 meters above astronomical tide could inundate low-lying areas of south coastal Andhra Pradesh during landfall.
