Visakhapatnam: After slight respite from the rain, a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify into a cyclone is expected to bring heavy rains in the next 48 hours in Tamil Nadu (TN) and surrounding states.

After slight respite from the rain, a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify into a cyclone is expected to bring heavy rains in the next 48 hours in Tamil Nadu (TN) and surrounding states.

The Met department has predicted that the storm is expected to cross Andhra Pradesh (AP) coast on Saturday night.

After "Hudhud" devastated AP, the new Cyclone to be named as "Ashobaa" as suggested in Sri Lanka, is also expected to hit the region.

Commissioner for Disaster Management and Principal Secretary to Government of AP, said depression over the Bay of Bengal, the center moved north-northwest for the last six hours, intensified into a deep depression and lay centered at 8:30 am Thursday on the central bay of Bengal near latitude 14 degrees N and 87 degrees e longitude, about 670 miles west-northwest of Port Blair, 580 km south-east of Visakhapatnam and 700 km south-southeast Paradip.

"Depression over central Bay of Bengal, moving northwest in the last six hours, intensified into a deep depression and lay centered near Port Blair. The system would move west towards the coast AP November 8 Under its influence, heavy rains expected that over TN, Pondicherry and AP occur in the next 48 hours, "said a senior Met Deccan Herald Thursday.

The official said the storm warning signal number two was hoisted at the ports of Chennai, Cuddalore and Nagapattinam and number one caution flag hoisted in distant ports Puducherry and Karaikal.