Cyclone Arnab forecast landfall 28 Oct: AP, Odisha road alert

By Rahul Goyal · 27 Oct, 2026

IMD forecasts Cyclone Arnab to cross between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam on 28 Oct with gusts up to 140 km/h, putting coastal road trips in AP and Odisha on alert.

Cyclone Arnab forecast landfall 28 Oct: AP, Odisha road alert

As of 27 Oct 2026, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasts Severe Cyclonic Storm Arnab to cross the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam by the forenoon of 28 Oct. The forecast calls for a very severe cyclonic storm with maximum sustained winds of 115–125 km/h and gusts up to 140 km/h, so people planning road trips in coastal Andhra Pradesh and southern Odisha need to check conditions again before leaving.

The landfall location, intensity and exact timing remain a forecast and can change with later bulletins. There is no blanket road-closure order in the sources reviewed for this article; route restrictions, diversions and local closures will depend on district administrations, police and highway authorities.

Key takeaways

IMD expects Arnab to cross between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, close to Yanam, by the forenoon of 28 Oct 2026.
The official forecast gives maximum sustained winds of 115–125 km/h, with gusts up to 140 km/h.
IMD’s 27 Oct warning page lists extremely heavy rain and strong surface winds for Coastal Andhra Pradesh on 27 and 28 Oct; independent reporting also points to heavy rain risk in Odisha.
For drivers, the practical risk is deteriorating visibility and changing route conditions, not an automatic cancellation of every journey in the region.

What IMD is forecasting

IMD’s coastal weather bulletin issued on 26 Oct said Arnab was a severe cyclonic storm over the west-central Bay of Bengal and was likely to intensify further while moving west-northwestwards. It forecast a turn towards the northwest after the evening of 27 Oct, followed by a crossing of the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, close to Yanam, during the forenoon of 28 Oct.

The same bulletin put the expected maximum sustained wind speed at 115–125 km/h, with gusts up to 140 km/h. The Cabinet Secretariat’s National Crisis Management Committee release on 26 Oct carried the same landfall corridor, timing and wind range after reviewing the IMD briefing. That provides confirmation that the forecast is being treated as a significant state and national preparedness issue, while it does not make the forecast outcome certain.

IMD’s sub-division warning page dated 27 Oct lists extremely heavy rain and strong surface winds for Coastal Andhra Pradesh on both 27 and 28 Oct. Hindustan Times, citing the weather department, reported an extremely heavy-rain risk across Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam on those two dates and a wider rain footprint over neighbouring states.

Why the forecast matters for road users

Heavy rain and strong winds can make a familiar route behave differently within a few hours. The IMD sea-area bulletin warns that visibility can become moderate to very poor in heavy to very heavy rain. For a driver, that can mean slower progress, reduced sight distance, standing water near low points and sudden restrictions at bridges, culverts or exposed coastal stretches.

Those are risk implications, not a confirmed list of closures. Hindustan Times reported that transport, port and shipping operations were expected to face disruption from Tuesday evening and Wednesday as the storm approached. The most useful reading of that report for road users is to treat the route as live: a journey that appears open on a map may still be unsuitable if local officials restrict movement, if water rises or if emergency vehicles need priority.

People travelling through southern Odisha should also pay attention to district-level warnings even if their route is inland. The Cabinet Secretariat said the storm could affect Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar after landfall, with high rainfall expected in several of those areas. The wider footprint matters for freight operators and long-distance bus routes because a route can be affected well away from the point where the storm crosses the coast.

What authorities have confirmed

The National Crisis Management Committee said shelters and evacuation arrangements had been made, district control rooms were active and NDRF and SDRF teams were on standby. It also said state governments and local administrations had been briefed on preparedness measures. These actions confirm that authorities are preparing for a serious weather event; they do not by themselves announce a closure on a particular national or state highway.

Indian Express reported that Andhra Pradesh had begun moving people from vulnerable areas and that Odisha had imposed restrictions on some coastal and tourist activities as the storm approached. Such local orders are a useful signal for travellers: if a district order changes, a route plan should change with it, even when a navigation app still shows the road as available.

What to check before travelling

1. Check the latest warning close to departure

Read the latest IMD bulletin and the district administration or police notice for the areas on your route shortly before leaving. Forecasts can be updated as the storm’s track changes. Do not rely on an earlier screenshot, an old social-media post or a route status that does not show when it was last updated.

2. Rework the route, fuel and toll assumptions

If the journey can be delayed, compare the revised timing and route in the road-trip planner after checking local advisories. For a rerouted trip, update the expected fuel spend with the fuel cost calculator rather than assuming the original estimate still holds.

A diversion can also change the number of toll plazas used. The toll-charge calculator can help compare the planned route with an alternative, but its estimate should not be treated as a clearance to use a road that officials have restricted.

3. Treat barricades and waterlogged sections as instructions

Do not drive through a barricaded road, a flooded underpass or a section where visibility has deteriorated beyond what the driver can safely manage. A short delay is a better outcome than entering a route that may become cut off or require emergency assistance. Freight and passenger operators should build additional time into schedules and keep dispatch teams aware of district-level changes.

4. Check fuel and charging before the weather worsens

Drivers who still need to travel should avoid planning a last-minute fuel stop in a low-lying or exposed location. Checking live fuel prices before departure can help with budgeting, but availability and access matter more than a small price difference during severe weather. Electric-vehicle users should similarly confirm that a charging stop is operating and reachable before committing to the route.

What to watch next

The next useful updates will be IMD’s revised track and intensity forecasts, district orders for Coastal Andhra Pradesh and southern Odisha, and confirmed information on road, bridge, port and public-transport operations. The forecast may narrow the landfall corridor or change the timing as new observations arrive.

The practical takeaway is simple: Arnab is a confirmed weather threat under active government monitoring, but its exact road impact is still location-specific. Anyone travelling in the affected region on 27–28 Oct should make the latest official warning and local route order the final check before setting out.