The depression-in-the making has sailed into South-West Bay of Bengal, which is the basin lying closest to Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu coasts, by the (Saturday) evening. 

It means that it has moved laterally from the South-East Bay of Bengal, 700 km East of Sri Lanka, where it was located earlier in the morning. 

LIKELY INTENSIFICATION

The day's lateral movement towards the coast has seen it undergo intensification one round to being 'well-marked.' 

India Met Department has already said that it would intensify another round to become a depression by tomorrow (Sunday).

But latest indications suggested that the weather system would rebound off the Sri Lankan coast before impacting the South-East Tamil Nadu coast. 

India Met wind field projections indicated exactly this, supported more or less by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. 

HIGH WIND ALERT

According to India Met, after landfall over the South-East coast (Tuticorin-Ramanathapuram belt instead of Cuddalore-Puducherry earlier), it will plough into the immediate hinterland in adjoining South Kerala. 

But the European Centre is of the view that the system would climb up along the coast and reach Cuddalore-Puducherry as a weakened low-pressure area. 

In any case, India Met has put out a high-wind alert for fishermen along the Tamil Nadu-Puducherry and South Andhra Pradesh coast for tomorrow (Sunday). 

The heavy to very heavy to extremely heavy rain warning is valid for these coasts, Rayalaseema, South Interior Karnataka and Kerala variously during the next few days. 

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