As it was moving on a very slow northwest direction on 20 November, it became Cyclonic Storm Helen as it brought light to heavy rainfall in eastern India.

Late on 17 November, the remnant energy of Tropical Storm Podul contributed to the development of a trough over the Bay of Bengal, located near the Andaman Islands.

During the next couple of days, the storm slowly organized and consolidated, prompting the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) to issue a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert (TCFA) during the early hours of 19 November.

[4] The storm slowly drifted west-northwestward, while deep convection consolidated around the system's well-defined center of circulation.

[5] In the early hours of 20 November, the IMD classified BOB 06 as a Cyclonic Storm, thereby officially naming it Helen.

[6] Early on 21 November, Helen continued to intensify into a Severe Cyclonic Storm, reaching its peak intensity of 100 km/h (62 mph) with a central pressure of 990 mbar (29 inHg).

Minister of Revenue Raghu Veera Reddy started a video conference with district collectors to plan possible preparedness for the disaster.

The Coast Guard's vessel Avantibai and an HAL Chetak helicopter of the Navy have been dispatched for search and rescue of the third boat.