The India Meteorological Department on Sunday afternoon issued an alert of rain in several parts of Jharkhand due to the impact of cyclonic storm Gulab which originated from the Bay of Bengal and is expected to make a landfall between Odisha and Andhra Pradesh coasts around midnight.

The cyclonic storm which lay centred about 160km east of Kalingapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and 125km southeast of Gopalpur (Odisha) this afternoon will begin its landfall process late in the evening, said India Meteorological Department in its latest bulletin.

An alert of heavy rain has been sounded in both neighbouring Odisha and Andhra Pradesh due to the cyclone's landfall while moderate rain forecasts have been issued for Jharkhand and Bengal.

Several districts in southern and central Jharkhand were expected to experience moderate rain during the next 24 hours, said weathermen at IMD's Ranchi Meteorological Centre.

The Ranchi Met Centre also issued an alert of thunder and lightning accompanied by rain during the next 24 hours.

The monsoon trough at mean sea level was passing through Jharsuguda in Odisha and was stretched till West Central Bay of Bengal.

Head of Ranchi Met Centre, Abhishek Anand said an alert of heavy rain was also issued in Jharkhand on September 29 and 30 due to formation of another low pressure system over the Bay of Bengal.

"A cyclonic circulation is building up over east central Bay of Bengal. Under its influence a low pressure area is going to form over the Bay of Bengal and reach coastal areas of West Bengal around September 29. This will result in heavy showers in Jharkhand and Bengal around mid-week," said Anand.