The 1985 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. Depen ...

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 t ...

. 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 betwee ...

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

Tropical Storm One (1B)

Tropical Storm One, which developed in the central

on May 22, strengthened to a peak of 70 mph winds before hitting

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

on the 25th. The storm brought torrential rains and flooding, killing around 11,069 people and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless. Advance warning likely cut back on what could have been a much higher death toll.

Tropical Storm Two (2A)

A tropical depression formed in the central

on May 28. It headed northward, reaching a peak of 60 mph winds before hitting western India on the 31st. The storm dissipated on the 1st.

Cyclonic Storm BOB 05

Tropical Storm Three (3B)

Tropical Storm Three, which developed in the central Bay of Bengal, moved northwestward to hit India on the 11th as a 60 mph storm.

Tropical Storm Four (4B)

Tropical Cyclone 04B had a long life. It was first detected on 9 October, almost a week before the initial warning was issued, as an area of poorly organized convection in the South China Sea. The Tropical Disturbance was developing in the active monsoon trough, midway between Tropical Cyclone 03B in the Bay of Bengal, and a disturbance in the Philippine Sea that would soon develop into Typhoon Cecil. 38 people were killed when the 60 mph Tropical Storm Four hit the state of

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

in India on October 16. Storm surge as high as 2 meters hit the villages of Chilika, Tangi and Krishna Prasad in at the time of landfall which resulted to be submerged for three days.

Tropical Storm Five (5B)

On November 17, 65 mph Tropical Storm Five, which developed on the 13th, hit eastern India. The storm brought heavy flooding, but no damage or deaths were reported.

Tropical Storm Six (6B)

50 mph Tropical Storm Six, having developed on December 9, hit southeastern India on the 13th.

References

External links

India Meteorological DepartmentJoint Typhoon Warning Center
{{TC Decades, Year=1980, basin=North Indian Ocean, type=cyclone 1985 NIO