The years from 2000-2004 featured the 2000-2004 North Indian cyclone seasons. Each season was an ongoing event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation. The North Indian tropical cyclone season has no bounds, but they tend to form between April and December, with peaks in May and November. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northern Indian Ocean.
2000 North Indian cyclone season
Four tropical cyclones were observed, less than the average of 5-6. Of those, 2 reached Cyclone strength.
Tropical Storm One (1B)
The first tropical depression of the season formed in the Bay of Bengal on October 14. Shortly after reaching tropical storm strength, upper level shear caused it to dissipate on the 18th.
Tropical Storm Two (2B)
.jpg?lang=en)
On October 25, a tropical depression developed in the central Bay of Bengal. It moved northward, reaching tropical storm strength on the 27th. It hit 45 nautical miles southeast of Calcutta as a minimal storm on the 28th, and dissipated later that day. Heavy rains associated with the system caused 25 fatalities.
Cyclone Three (3B)
The third tropical depression of the season began its life in the Bay of Bengal on November 26. It moved westward, strengthening to a tropical storm later that day. It reached cyclone strength on the 28th, and made landfall on southern India on the 29th, causing 6 deaths from flooding. It rapidly weakened over the country, but in the Arabian Sea, the system was able to re-intensify to a tropical storm on the 3rd. Upper level winds prevailed, and the system dissipated on the 6th over open waters.
Cyclone Four (4B)
.jpg?lang=en)
The final tropical depression of the season formed, like the rest of the storms of the season, in the Bay of Bengal. Beginning on December 3, it drifted westward, reaching tropical storm strength on the 24th. Just before hitting central Sri Lanka the storm reached cyclone strength, but weakened while crossing the country. Tropical Storm 4 continued west-northwestward, and dissipated over southern India on the 28th after killing 5 people and leaving 500,000 people homeless.
2001 North Indian cyclone season
Four tropical cyclones were observed, less than the average of 5-6. Of those, 1 reached Cyclone strength.
Cyclone One (1A)
.jpg?lang=en)
A tropical depression formed in the Arabian Sea on May 21. It tracked eastward towards India, but turned northward before hitting the country. Tropical Depression 1A became a tropical storm late on the 21st, and reached cyclone strength on the 22nd. While drifting northwestward on the 24th, Cyclone 1A reached its peak of 130 mph winds over the open waters, but upper level shear weakened it greatly to a tropical depression 3 days later. Moving northward, the storm briefly re-strengthened to a 65 mph storm before striking western India on the 28th and dissipating.
Tropical Storms Two and Three (2B & 3B)
.jpg?lang=en)
Tropical Storm Two, which formed on September 24, and Tropical Storm Three, which formed on October 8 were weak storms that tracked westward across the Arabian Sea without affecting land.
Tropical Depression Four (4B)
The fourth tropical depression of the year formed on November 9 in the Bay of Bengal. It tracked northward, paralleling the Indian coastline offshore before dissipating from upper level shear on the 12th.
Tropical Storm Vamei (5A)
The near-equator Typhoon Vamei crossed Indonesia and reached the Indian Ocean on December 29 and became a tropical cyclone. It restrengthened to a tropical storm on the 30th, but upper level winds caused it to dissipate on January 1st, 2002.
2002 North Indian cyclone season
Four tropical cyclones were observed, less than the average of 5-6. None reached Cyclone strength.
Tropical Storm One (1A)
.jpg?lang=en)
The first tropical depression of the year (excluding Vamei which persisted from 2001 to 2002) formed on May 5 in the central Arabian Sea. It moved west-northwestward, reaching tropical storm strength on the 7th. The storm reached a peak of 50 mph winds, but upper level shear caused it weaken to a tropical depression before hitting Oman on the 10th.
Tropical Storm Two (2B)
.jpg?lang=en)
A tropical storm moved northward in the eastern Bay of Bengal in early to mid May. After reaching a peak of 50 mph winds it hit Myanmar on the 11th and dissipated on the 12th.
Tropical Storm Three (3B)
On November 9 a tropical depression formed in the Bay of Bengal. It moved northeastward, reaching a peak of 55 mph winds before weakening due to upper level shear. The weakened tropical depression hit Bangladesh on the 12th.
Tropical Storm Four (4B)
.jpg?lang=en)
Tropical Storm Four moved north over the open waters of the Bay of Bengal from November 22 to the 25th without making any landfall or having effects on land.
Tropical Storm Five (5B)
A tropical depression formed south of India on December 23. It moved northeastward, reaching tropical storm strength while southeast of Sri Lanka. Upper level winds caused it to dissipate on the 25th.
2003 North Indian cyclone season
Three tropical cyclones were observed, less than the average of 5-6. 1 reached Cyclone strength.
Tropical Storm One (1A)
The first storm of the season developed from a broad surface trough on May 8 over the southern Bay of Bengal. It moved northwestward, where it reached tropical storm strength on the 10th. Mid-level ridging pushed the storm eastward, where after reaching a peak of 70 mph winds, upper level shear weakened it to a tropical depression. It managed to re-strengthen to a 50 mph tropical storm before hitting Myanmar on the 19th.
Cyclone Two (2A)
On November 10, Tropical Depression 2A formed over the Arabian Sea. It moved west-southwestward where favorable conditions allowed it to strengthen, first to a tropical storm on the 12th then a hurricane on the 13th. Upper level winds caused it to dissipate on the 18th over the open waters.
Tropical Storm Three (3B)
.jpg?lang=en)
The third and final tropical depression of the season developed on December 11 in the Bay of Bengal, a short distance northwest of Sumatra. It tracked northwestward, slowly intensifying to a peak of 65 mph winds. It struck False Divi Point, India on the 15th at that intensity, and dissipated the next day. Rainfall from the storm caused the deaths of 27 people and damage of 5100 homes in India.
2004 North Indian cyclone season
In 2004, RSMC New Delhi identified one Very Severe Cyclonic Storm and three Severe Cyclonic Storms. Out of the four cyclonic storms, three developed over the Arabian Sea and only one formed over the Bay of Bengal. Joint Typhoon Warning Center identified one more tropical cyclones(4A) in Arabian sea. The notable features is that the Arabian sea was more active than the Bay of Bengal during 2004.
The Arabian sea severe cyclone “Agni” in November formed very close to the equator near latitude 1.5N. Cyclogenesis over the north Indian Ocean at such low latitudes has not occurred in the past. The coexistence of cyclonic disturbances over the Arabian sea and the Bay of Bengal as occurred in June 2004 is also not common. This had however helped the progress of the southwest monsoon across the country during the onset phase.
This was the first North Indian season that featured the naming of storms, though only two storms received names.
Tropical Storm One (1A)
On May 5, Tropical Depression 1A developed in the Arabian Sea, 200 miles west of the Indian coast. It wandered for the next three days, slowly strengthening to its peak of 50 mph winds. The tropical storm turned northwestward, where dry air and moderate shear caused the system to dissipate on the 10th.
Tropical Storm Two (2B)
.JPG?lang=en)
A tropical storm formed on May 17 in the Bay of Bengal, 230 nautical miles south of Calcutta. It drifted southwestward initially, followed by a turn to the northeast where it intensified to a 70 mph tropical storm. Not long after on the 19th, the tropical storm hit Myanmar, and dissipated later that day. The storm caused heavy flooding and damage, amounting to 220 casualties. [1]
Tropical Storm Onil (3A)
On October 1, a tropical depression developed in the northeastern Arabian Sea. It moved northeastward, where it strengthened into a tropical storm on the 2nd. The name, "Onil" was the first cyclonic system to ever be named in history of the North Indian cyclones. Onil later reached a peak with sustained winds of 45 mph, though other forecasting agencies estimated a stronger storm. Regardless, the storm entrained dry air and rapidly weakened. Though operationally Onil was said to have made landfall on India, the low level circulation halted just before landfall, drifted southward, and dissipated on the 10th.
In the post-analysis by RSMC New Delhi, the system weakened into a depression over Gujarat-Kutch coast in the evening of 3 October without crossing the coast.
Tropical Storm Four (4A)
A tropical storm developed in the central Arabian Sea on November 4. It moved generally westward, where it slowly weakened until dissipating on the 7th.
Cyclone Agni (5A)
An area of convection developed in the southern North Indian Ocean on November 26, 90 nautical miles north of the equator. It drifted west-southwestward, and became Tropical Storm Agni November 28 only 42 nautical miles north of the equator, the southernmost tropical cyclone in the Northern Hemisphere. Agni headed west-northwestward, and reached cyclone strength on the 29th over the Arabian Sea. Vertical shear and dry air weakened Agni until dissipation on the 3rd, not far east of Somalia.
List of North Indian storm names
This list is effective from mid-2004 until 2009. The names will be used sequentially and once only.
|
|
|
|
Sources
See also
- List of North Indian cyclone seasons
- List of notable tropical cyclones
- Tropical cyclone
- Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
- Pacific hurricane seasons: 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
- Atlantic hurricane seasons: 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
- Pacific typhoon seasons: 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
- Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclone seasons: 2004-05