The 1981 North Indian Ocean cyclone season was part of the annual cycle of

tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

formation. The season has no official bounds but cyclones tend to form between April and December. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northern

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

. There are two main seas in the North Indian Ocean—the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between ...

to the east of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

and the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...

to the west of India. The official

Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre A Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC) is responsible for the distribution of information, advisories, and warnings regarding the specific program they have a part of, agreed by consensus at the World Meteorological Organization as p ...

in this basin is the India Meteorological Department (IMD), while the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) releases unofficial advisories. An average of five tropical cyclones form in the North Indian Ocean every season with peaks in May and November. Cyclones occurring between the meridians 45°E and 100°E are included in the season by the IMD.

Systems

There were 12 depressions that developed during the season. The first formed on June 20 in the northern Bay of Bengal. It soon moved ashore and dissipated on June 24. In August, there were two depressions and a cyclonic storm in the Bay of Bengal. The first formed in the Bay of Bengal on August 3, which dissipated after moving ashore eastern India the next day. The other formed on August 12, moved ashore two days later, and dissipated on August 16. A land depression existed over eastern India on September 9. Another Bay of Bengal depression formed on September 17 and moved ashore India a day later. From October 31 to November 2, a depression existed in the central Bay of Bengal. A depression existed off southwest Myanmar from November 8–10.

August cyclonic storm

On August 7, a cyclonic storm formed in the northern Bay of Bengal. It moved ashore Odisha the next day, and progressed northwestward through India. It was last observed on August 10 over western India.

September cyclonic storm

A depression formed in the Bay of Bengal on September 24, and quickly intensified into a cyclonic storm while moving northwestward. On September 26, the storm moved ashore Odisha. It eventually turned northward, dissipating over Chhattisgarh on September 28. Many huts were reported to be damaged due to gust winds over the coastal villages of Odisha.

Tropical Storm One (1B)

The monsoon trough spawned a tropical depression just east of Sri Lanka on October 25. The depression tracked northwestward, becoming a tropical storm on the 27th over southern India according to the JTWC. Over the Arabian Sea, it turned northeastward where, after reaching a peak of winds, it hit western India on November 2 as it recurved northeastward. The IMD last reported the system on November 3. Nearly 5700 huts were reported to be damaged due to gust winds over Gujarat at the time of landfall.

Cyclone Two (2B)

On November 20, Tropical Storm Two, having weakened from a cyclone that developed on the 17th, hit Bangladesh and dissipated soon after.

Cyclone Three (3B)

Cyclone Three, which formed from the monsoon trough in the Bay of Bengal on December 5, reached a peak of 85 mph winds on the 9th. It weakened as it continued northward, and hit near the Indian/Bangladesh border on 1300UTC of 10th as a 60 mph tropical storm. Widespread damage and flooding caused at least 200 fatalities and affected one million people.

References

External links

India Meteorological DepartmentJoint Typhoon Warning Center
{{Tropical cyclone season, 1981 1981 NIO