Tropical Cyclone Guambe was the third
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 ...
to make
landfall
Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...
in the country of
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
since December 2020, following
Cyclone Eloise
Tropical Cyclone Eloise was the strongest tropical cyclone to impact the country of Mozambique since Cyclone Kenneth in 2019 and the second of three consecutive tropical cyclones to impact Mozambique in the 2020–21 South-West Indian Ocean cy ...
and
Tropical Storm Chalane. The eleventh tropical depression, eighth
named storm
Tropical cyclones and subtropical cyclones are named by various warning centers to simplify communication between forecasters and the general public regarding forecasts, watches and warnings. The names are intended to reduce confusion in the ...
, and the fourth tropical cyclone of the
2020–21 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season, Guambe originated from a tropical disturbance in the
Mozambique Channel
The Mozambique Channel (french: Canal du Mozambique, mg, Lakandranon'i Mozambika, pt, Canal de Moçambique) is an arm of the Indian Ocean located between the Southeast African countries of Madagascar and Mozambique. The channel is about long ...
on 10 February. Two days later, the system developed into a
subtropical depression
A subtropical cyclone is a weather system that has some characteristics of both tropical and an extratropical cyclone.
As early as the 1950s, meteorologists were uncertain whether they should be characterized as tropical or extratropical cyclon ...
that made
landfall
Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...
in Mozambique. The storm proceeded to make a clockwise loop over the country for the next several days, while dumping prolific amounts of rainfall in the region, before re-emerging into the Mozambique Channel on 16 February. Soon afterward, the system strengthened into a moderate tropical storm and was named ''Guambe''. A couple of days later, Guambe underwent
rapid intensification
In meteorology, rapid intensification is a situation where a tropical cyclone intensifies dramatically in a short period of time. The United States National Hurricane Center defines rapid intensification as an increase in the maximum sustained w ...
, reaching tropical cyclone status on 19 February, and peaking as a
Category 2-equivalent tropical cyclone shortly afterward. Afterward, Guambe underwent an
eyewall replacement cycle
In meteorology, eyewall replacement cycles, also called concentric eyewall cycles, naturally occur in intense tropical cyclones, generally with winds greater than , or major hurricanes ( Category 3 or above). When tropical cyclones reach this int ...
and weakened back into a severe tropical storm on 20 February. Afterward, Guambe transitioned into an
extratropical storm
Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are low-pressure areas which, along with the anticyclones of high-pressure areas, drive the weather over much of the Earth. Extratropical cyclones are capable of ...
on 22 February. On the next day, Guambe was absorbed into another extratropical cyclone.
After making landfall in Mozambique on 12 February as a subtropical low, Guambe's precursor disturbance caused widespread flooding across
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
, which destroyed homes and crops, and also displaced thousands of people weeks after
Cyclone Eloise
Tropical Cyclone Eloise was the strongest tropical cyclone to impact the country of Mozambique since Cyclone Kenneth in 2019 and the second of three consecutive tropical cyclones to impact Mozambique in the 2020–21 South-West Indian Ocean cy ...
made
landfall
Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...
near the same location. Guambe was estimated to have caused millions of dollars (2021
USD
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
) in damages.
No deaths were reported from the storm.
Meteorological history
On 10 February, a disturbance developed in the
Mozambique Channel
The Mozambique Channel (french: Canal du Mozambique, mg, Lakandranon'i Mozambika, pt, Canal de Moçambique) is an arm of the Indian Ocean located between the Southeast African countries of Madagascar and Mozambique. The channel is about long ...
between
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
and
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
. For the next couple of days, the system slowly moved westward, approaching the coast of Mozambique while gradually organizing. On 12 February,
Météo-France
Météo-France is the French national meteorological service.
Organisation
The organisation was established by decree in June 1993 and is a department of the Ministry of Transportation. It is headquartered in Paris but many domestic operatio ...
La Réunion noted that the system had transitioned into a
subtropical depression
A subtropical cyclone is a weather system that has some characteristics of both tropical and an extratropical cyclone.
As early as the 1950s, meteorologists were uncertain whether they should be characterized as tropical or extratropical cyclon ...
and had made
landfall
Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...
near
Inhambane
Inhambane, also known as Terra de Boa Gente (''Land of Good People''), is a city located in southern Mozambique, lying on Inhambane Bay, 470 km northeast of Maputo. It is the capital of the Inhambane Province and according to the 2017 census ...
, Mozambique; the subtropical depression was also slowly moving inland without having developed any significant sustained convective activity near the center. The next day, the system was designated as an overland tropical depression, while bringing locally heavy rainfall across portions of southern Mozambique. For the next several days, the system made a slow clockwise loop over Mozambique, while slowly organizing. By 15 February, the meandering system had turned back eastward and was expected to re-emerge into the
Mozambique Channel
The Mozambique Channel (french: Canal du Mozambique, mg, Lakandranon'i Mozambika, pt, Canal de Moçambique) is an arm of the Indian Ocean located between the Southeast African countries of Madagascar and Mozambique. The channel is about long ...
. At 06:00 UTC on 16 February, the system re-emerged over warm open water and was designated as Tropical Disturbance 11. The storm resumed its organizing trend soon afterward, and at 18:00 UTC that day, the MRF upgraded the system to a tropical depression.
On 17 February, the depression turned southward and strengthened into Moderate Tropical Storm Guambe at 12:00 UTC that day, with the northern section of the storm becoming enveloped in deep
convection
Convection is single or multiphase fluid flow that occurs spontaneously due to the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoyancy). When the cause of the convec ...
. Around that time, Guambe had a secondary low-level circulation center over northern
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, which slowed the storm's southward movement. The storm continued strengthening into the next day as thunderstorm activity became more concentrated around the center of the storm's circulation; however, the lack of upper-level divergence initially limited any significant intensification. Despite this, Guambe eventually strengthened into a severe tropical storm at 18:00 UTC on 18 February. Over the next several hours, Guambe began undergoing
rapid intensification
In meteorology, rapid intensification is a situation where a tropical cyclone intensifies dramatically in a short period of time. The United States National Hurricane Center defines rapid intensification as an increase in the maximum sustained w ...
, with a well-defined
central dense overcast
The central dense overcast, or CDO, of a tropical cyclone or strong subtropical cyclone is the large central area of thunderstorms surrounding its circulation center, caused by the formation of its eyewall. It can be round, angular, oval, or irr ...
(CDO) configuration developing, as the cyclone continued becoming more organized. Guambe quickly reached tropical cyclone status at 06:00 UTC on 19 February, with the appearance of a very small
eye
Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and conv ...
on infrared satellite imagery and a well-defined core structure, even as the storm turned southwestward. Soon afterward, Guambe reached its peak intensity, with 10-minute sustained winds of 155 km/h (100 mph), and a minimum central pressure of . Around the same time, the JTWC estimated that Guambe had strengthened into a
Category 2-equivalent tropical cyclone on the
Saffir–Simpson scale
The Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale (SSHWS) classifies hurricanes—which in the Western Hemisphere are tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions and tropical storms—into five categories distinguished by ...
(SSHWS), with 1-minute sustained winds at 155 km/h (100 mph), with the storm's 1-minute sustained wind speed having increased by 65 km/h (40 mph) over a 24-hour period.
The storm's forward motion slowed as Guambe held onto its strength, with the storm's
eye
Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and conv ...
disappearing and reappearing on satellite imagery, and sporadic convective bursts.
However, Guambe soon began to weaken, with the storm's feeder bands unravelling and cloud tops warming, though the storm managed to maintain a symmetrical structure with a pinhole eye. Despite forecasts of further strengthening, Guambe rapidly weakened back down to severe tropical storm status on 20 February, due to an
eyewall replacement cycle
In meteorology, eyewall replacement cycles, also called concentric eyewall cycles, naturally occur in intense tropical cyclones, generally with winds greater than , or major hurricanes ( Category 3 or above). When tropical cyclones reach this int ...
, while the storm began accelerating towards the southeast. Guambe further decayed as its
rainband
A rainband is a cloud and precipitation structure associated with an area of rainfall which is significantly elongated. Rainbands can be stratiform or convective, and are generated by differences in temperature. When noted on weather radar ima ...
s unraveled and its
cloud top
Cloud Top () is a 30-story, tall residential twin skyscraper complex located in Xinyi Special District, Taipei, Taiwan. The complex used to be the tallest residential skyscrapers in Taipei when completed in 1997. Built under strict requiremen ...
s warmed, brought on by high
wind shear
Wind shear (or windshear), sometimes referred to as wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere. Atmospheric wind shear is normally described as either vertical or horizontal ...
and cool
sea surface temperature
Sea surface temperature (SST), or ocean surface temperature, is the ocean temperature close to the surface. The exact meaning of ''surface'' varies according to the measurement method used, but it is between and below the sea surface. Air mass ...
s. Later on 21 February, Guambe began undergoing an
extratropical transition
Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are low-pressure areas which, along with the anticyclones of high-pressure areas, drive the weather over much of the Earth. Extratropical cyclones are capable of p ...
, before completing the transition at 06:00 UTC on the next day, even as the storm began interacting with the southern
jet stream
Jet streams are fast flowing, narrow, meandering thermal wind, air currents in the Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheres of some planets, including Earth. On Earth, the main jet streams are located near the altitude of the tropopause and are west ...
. Subsequently, the MRF issued their last advisory on the storm. On 23 February, Guambe was absorbed into another larger
extratropical cyclone
Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are low-pressure areas which, along with the anticyclones of high-pressure areas, drive the weather over much of the Earth. Extratropical cyclones are capable of ...
.
Preparations and impact
After Guambe's precursor disturbance moved ashore in
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
on 12 February, the storm proceeded to produce prolific
rainfall
Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...
across the region for the next several days, leading to widespread flooding, and displacing over 27,000 people. The storm washed out two bridges on the
Umbeluzi River
The Mbuluzi River (also known as the iMbuluzi or Umbeluzi) is one of the main rivers of Eswatini, and an important river in Mozambique. On the boundary of these countries, the Mbuluzi cuts through the Lebombo Range, before entering the Mozambi ...
, flooded hundreds of homes, and also destroyed numerous crops.
On 15 February, a prison in southern Mozambique transferred 150 prisoners to another prison facility away due to the risk of flooding from the storm.
The storm struck less than a month after
Cyclone Eloise
Tropical Cyclone Eloise was the strongest tropical cyclone to impact the country of Mozambique since Cyclone Kenneth in 2019 and the second of three consecutive tropical cyclones to impact Mozambique in the 2020–21 South-West Indian Ocean cy ...
had made landfall near the same place, worsening the ongoing crisis in the region.
The storm also caused
flooding
A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...
in parts of northeastern
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
during this time.
As a tropical disturbance, Guambe caused millions of dollars (2021 USD) in damages in South Africa.
After Guambe re-emerged into the
Mozambique Channel
The Mozambique Channel (french: Canal du Mozambique, mg, Lakandranon'i Mozambika, pt, Canal de Moçambique) is an arm of the Indian Ocean located between the Southeast African countries of Madagascar and Mozambique. The channel is about long ...
on 16 February and began strengthening, local authorities in Mozambique anticipated the threat of additional flooding from the storm in the southern portion of the country, especially the region between
Beira and
Inhambane
Inhambane, also known as Terra de Boa Gente (''Land of Good People''), is a city located in southern Mozambique, lying on Inhambane Bay, 470 km northeast of Maputo. It is the capital of the Inhambane Province and according to the 2017 census ...
.
The mysterious deaths of 186
Spinner dolphin
The spinner dolphin (''Stenella longirostris'') is a small dolphin found in off-shore tropical waters around the world. It is famous for its acrobatic displays in which it rotates around its longitudinal axis as it leaps through the air. It is a ...
s off of
Bazaruto Archipelago National Park
The Bazaruto Archipelago National Park (BANP) is a protected area in the Inhambane Province of Mozambique on the Bazaruto Archipelago.
The park was proclaimed on 25 May 1971. It is off the coast of the Vilanculos and Inhassoro districts, covering ...
was thought to be blamed on Cyclone Guambe.
However, there were no additional reports of damage to human property as Guambe accelerated southeastward.
See also
*
Weather of 2021
The following is a list of weather events that occurred in 2021. The year began with La Niña conditions. There were several natural disasters around the world from various types of weather, including blizzards, cold waves, droughts, heat wave ...
*
Tropical cyclones in 2021
During 2021, tropical cyclones formed in seven major bodies of water, commonly known as tropical cyclone basins. Tropical cyclones will be assigned names by various weather agencies if they attain maximum sustained winds of . During the year, one ...
*
Cyclone Idai
Intense Tropical Cyclone Idai () was one of the worst tropical cyclones on record to affect Africa and the Southern Hemisphere. The long-lived storm caused catastrophic damage, and a humanitarian crisis in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi, lea ...
*
Tropical Storm Chalane
*
Cyclone Eloise
Tropical Cyclone Eloise was the strongest tropical cyclone to impact the country of Mozambique since Cyclone Kenneth in 2019 and the second of three consecutive tropical cyclones to impact Mozambique in the 2020–21 South-West Indian Ocean cy ...
*
Cyclone Funso
Intense Tropical Cyclone Funso was a powerful tropical cyclone which produced flooding in Mozambique and Malawi in January 2012. It was the eighth tropical cyclone, the sixth named storm and the second tropical cyclone to form during the 2011–12 ...
References
External links
Météo-France La RéunionDirection Générale de la Météorologie de MadagascarMauritius Meteorological Services
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guambe
2020–21 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season
Guambe
2021 in Mozambique
Cyclones in Mozambique
February 2021 events in Africa