The India Meteorological Department on Saturday warned that a depression over the Indian Ocean and southeast Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm over the next 12 hours and further into a severe cyclonic storm, PTI reported.

The weather department had issued a red alert for Tamil Nadu and Puducherry on Thursday.

The system is very likely to move northwestwards off the Sri Lanka coast during the next 72 hours and reach near northern Tamil Nadu and southern Andhra Pradesh coasts on April 30.

The weather department has forecast heavy rainfall over isolated places in Kerala on April 29 and April 30. Light to moderate rainfall is also likely over a few places in coastal areas of northern Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh on April 30 and May 1.

Fishermen have been advised not to venture into deep sea areas of southeast Bay of Bengal, adjoining east equatorial Indian Ocean and off the Sri Lanka coast. The sea condition is likely to be rough off the coasts of Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh from April 29 to May 1.

The weather department has forecast wind speeds reaching 30 km per hour to 40 km per hour gusting to 50 km per hour along and off Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coasts, Comorin area, Gulf of Mannar and over Kerala.

Weather forecast website Skymet said the cyclone will be named Fani.