Bhubaneswar, Oct 31 (IANS): The fishermen in Odisha Wednesday were asked to remain cautious while venturing out into the sea in view of the cyclonic storm Nilam over the Bay of Bengal.

Although Cyclone Nilam is unlikely to hit the state coast and is expected to make a landfall close to Chennai Wednesday evening, the weather office here said the sea may remain rough, endangering fishermen.

"We have urged fishermen to remain cautious while venturing out into the sea of south Odisha coast," a senior official of the Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre told IANS.

According to the official, Cyclone Nilam was laying at a distance of about 1,000 km from south-west of Gopalpur in Odisha and is likely to intensify further into a severe cyclonic storm and move northwest.

Distant Warning Signal No-2 (DW-II) has been kept hoisted at two Odisha ports - Paradip and Gopalpur. Rain or thunder shower would occur at a few places over the state during next two days, the official added.