The India Meteorological Department on Thursday said that the season’s first cyclonic storm is likely to form over the South Andaman sea in the next couple of days, the Hindustan Times reported.

“The low pressure area is likely to develop in the next 24 hours and a depression is likely to form in the subsequent 24 hours,” IMD Director General M Mohapatra told the newspaper. “We have forecast that the depression is likely to intensify further. If it develops into a cyclonic storm, it will be called Amphan.”

The weather department advised fishermen to not venture into the sea along and off north Sumatra coast, South Andaman Sea and adjoining areas of South East Bay of Bengal from May 1 to May 3. “The depression is very likely to move north-northwestwards initially and then north-northeastwards, towards Myanmar-Bangladesh coasts,” it said in a press release.

Private weather forecaster Skymet said the ocean parameters continue to be favourable for the cyclone’s strengthening while over the east-central Bay and neighbourhood. “However, there is no consensus amongst the weather model over the timelines, area, and level of intensification,” it added.

The western disturbance is likely to cause rain over the western Himalayan region, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan from May 3 to 6. “The west disturbance will bring rains, thunderstorms, squally winds of 40 to 50 kmph speed over the entire northwestern region for three to four days,” said Kuldeep Shrivastava, head of the regional weather forecasting centre in Delhi. “There may be snowfall in the upper reaches of Western Himalayas also.”