on Saturday, according to the IMD. Heavy rain along with thunderstorms is likely across the state till May 30, and there will be no large change in temperature, it said. "Almost all the districts experienced cloudy weather, with light to moderate rain in many places and heavy downpour in some areas," said Manorama Mohanty, the director of the Meteorological Centre in Bhubaneswar.

"Similar weather conditions are likely to prevail till May 30 in the wake of a cyclonic circulation that lies over north coastal Odisha," she said.

Mohanty said a low-pressure area is likely to form over west-central Bay of Bengal around May 27.

Between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm, Koraput received 45 mm rainfall, followed by Bhubaneswar (37mm), Angul (36 mm), Khurda (22 mm) Cuttack (18.4 mm) and Talcher (12.4 mm).

IMD scientist Umashankar Das said Odisha was receiving pre-monsoon rains after the southwest monsoon reached Kerala. "The cloud systems responsible for the current rainfall are not moving in from the west or northwest, which is characteristic of Kalbaisakhi storms. Instead, these systems are advancing inland from the sea, a typical pre-monsoon pattern," he said.

The IMD advised people to take safe shelter during a thunderstorm to protect themselves from lightning.