Cyclone Murasu weakens into well-marked low-pressure area; Andhra counts two dead

It took a week of weakening, but the India Meteorological Department has stopped calling Murasu a storm. The remnant of severe cyclonic storm Murasu has weakened into a depression over east Telangana and adjoining Coastal Andhra Pradesh, and the IMD expects it to drop further, to a well-marked low-pressure area, during the next 12 hours. The storm’s exit has not been gentle: before losing intensity, Murasu claimed two lives in Andhra Pradesh and damaged infrastructure and agriculture across the state.

For meteorologists, that downgrade is a return journey. Murasu began in late October as a well-marked low-pressure area over the southeast Bay of Bengal and the adjoining Andaman Sea, intensified into a depression, and then grew into a cyclonic storm off the Andhra coast. Chennai was forecast to receive rain from that Sunday as the system built up. Now it is tracing the same path backward, toward the weakest label on the IMD’s chart, a well-marked low-pressure area, with one difference: the rain is still falling in several states.

What exactly is a well-marked low-pressure area?

The IMD rates weather systems by how organised their circulation has become. From weakest to strongest, the ladder runs: low-pressure area, well-marked low-pressure area, depression, deep depression, cyclonic storm, and severe cyclonic storm, the grade Murasu reached at its peak. A well-marked low-pressure area is the final named step before a system dissolves entirely.

That label matters because it changes what the IMD warns about. Once a system drops below depression status, it is no longer named or tracked as a cyclone, and the dramatic alerts end. But it still has a defined centre of low pressure with winds strong enough to organise clouds and rain, which is why a well-marked low-pressure area can still deliver days of wet weather. When the IMD says a system has weakened to this level, it means the dangerous phase is over, not that the skies are clear. Murasu is just the latest Bay of Bengal storm to walk this ladder in reverse, and the phrase itself is why it shows up in news headlines whenever a cyclone fades.

How Murasu spent its fury on coastal Andhra

Murasu crossed the Andhra Pradesh coast as a severe cyclonic storm, and Odisha escaped largely unharmed. The destruction was concentrated in three coastal districts: Prakasam, Krishna and the Godavari belt. ETV Bharat reported that the storm spared Odisha but wreaked havoc there, killing two people and causing widespread damage to infrastructure and standing crops. The IMD has also forecast more rain for Andhra Pradesh in the coming days.

From there, the system weakened in defined steps: severe cyclone to deep depression, and then to a depression once it moved inland over east Telangana and adjoining Coastal Andhra. Lokmat Times reported that train services have been affected, with the weakened system still disrupting rail movement. This staged collapse is typical for Bay of Bengal storms because, once cut off from warm ocean water, they lose their energy source and fall down the ladder rung by rung.

Who still faces heavy rain

The rain is far from over. Even after the downgrade, the IMD has forecast rain and thunderstorms in eight states, and a separate heavy-rain alert remains in force for four states. With the remnant tracking nearly northwards, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh remain in the line of fire. Even Odisha, which the cyclone spared, is reporting continued heavy rain and thunder as the remnant weakens, according to regional outlet Odisha Bytes.

What happens next

The IMD’s latest bulletin says the depression will continue moving nearly northwards and weaken further into a well-marked low-pressure area during the next 12 hours. After that, the system loses its identity as an organised disturbance and reverts to being a routine feature on the synoptic chart, monitored like any other seasonal low. For travellers, the impact lingers: train services are still disrupted even as the cyclone tag disappears. The next 12 hours are the window to watch, once the system is formally declared a well-marked low-pressure area, the severe cyclone label will vanish from IMD bulletins entirely, though the forecast of rain and thunderstorms in eight states stands.