Chennai, several districts of Tamil Nadu and the coastal regions of Andhra Pradesh will experience heavy rains and strong winds on Tuesday night due to a severe cyclonic storm over southeast of Bay of Bengal.

The storm is expected to move in a northwesterly direction towards north Tamil Nadu and south Andhra Pradesh coast, Area Cyclone Warning Centre said on Tuesday morning in a cyclone alert bulletin.

Apart from Chennai, heavy rains and strong winds are expected to hit Tiruvallur, Kanchipuram, Villupuram, Cuddalore and Pondicherry, the bulletin said. Fishermen have been advised not to venture into sea, it added.

The Andhra Pradesh government has also sounded an alert in five districts of Nellore, Prakasam, Guntur, Krishna and Chittoor.

"It (the storm) is about 600 km southeast off the Chennai coast. We are closely monitoring the system and updating the forecast every six hours," Hyderabad Meteorological Centre Director Dr C V V Bhadram told rediff.com.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu held a review meeting with officials on Monday night and asked district authorities to take precautionary measures, including warning the people living in low-lying areas.

The district officials have also been asked to keep stocks of rice and other essential commodities and to mobilise motor vehicles and boats to evacuate people from low-lying areas to safer places.