Super cyclonic storm is the highest category used by the
India Meteorological Department
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) is an agency of the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Government of India. It is the principal agency responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasting and seismology. IMD is headquarter ...
(IMD) to classify tropical cyclones, within the
North Indian Ocean tropical cyclone basin between the
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula (Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area ...
and the
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...
. Within the basin, a super cyclonic storm is defined as a
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 ...
that has 3-minute mean maximum sustained wind speeds of at least . The category was formally introduced during the
1999 season alongside
Very Severe Cyclonic Storms
Very may refer to:
* English's prevailing intensifier
Businesses
* The Very Group, a British retail/consumer finance corporation
** Very (online retailer), their main e-commerce brand
* VERY TV, a Thai television channel
Places
* Véry, a c ...
, in order to replace the previously used Severe Cyclonic Storm with Core of Hurricane Winds. There have been at least nine storms that have attained such an intensity. The most recent super cyclonic storm was
Cyclone Amphan
Super Cyclonic Storm Amphan was an extremely powerful and catastrophic tropical cyclone that caused widespread damage in Eastern India, specifically in West Bengal and Odisha, and in Bangladesh, in May 2020. It was the strongest tropical cyclon ...
in
2020 North Indian Ocean cyclone season.
Background
The
North Indian Ocean tropical cyclone basin is located to the north of the
Equator
The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can als ...
, and encompasses the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, between the
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula (Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area ...
and the
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...
.
The basin is officially monitored by the
India Meteorological Department
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) is an agency of the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Government of India. It is the principal agency responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasting and seismology. IMD is headquarter ...
's
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 New Delhi.
Within the basin a Super Cyclonic Storm is defined as a
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 ...
, that has 3-minute mean maximum sustained wind speeds of at least .
The category was introduced during 1999 alongside Very Severe Cyclonic Storms in order, to replace the previously used Severe Cyclonic Storm with Core of Hurricane Winds.
Should a Super Cyclonic Storm impact land at or near its peak intensity, then it is expected to cause large scale flooding and extensive structural damage to residential and industrial buildings as well as bridges.
[http://www.rsmcnewdelhi.imd.gov.in/images/pdf/cyclone-awareness/damage-potential-cyclone/damage.pdf ] It is also expected to disrupt communications and the power supply as well as large-scale disruption to rail and road traffic.
Systems
Climatology
See also
*
List of Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes
A Category 5 Atlantic hurricane is a tropical cyclone that reaches Category 5 intensity on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale, within the Atlantic Ocean to the north of the equator. They are among the strongest tropical cyclones that can ...
*
List of Category 5 Pacific hurricanes
Category 5 hurricanes are tropical cyclones that reach Category 5 intensity on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale. They are by definition the strongest hurricanes that can form on planet Earth. They are rare in the northeastern Pacif ...
*
List of very intense tropical cyclones
In the South-West Indian Ocean, Météo-France's La Réunion tropical cyclone centre (MFR, RSMC La Réunion) monitors all tropical cyclones. A very intense tropical cyclone (VITC) is the highest category on the South-West Indian Ocean Tropical Cyc ...
Notes
References
{{Tropical cyclones by intensity
Super cyclonic storms
NIO SUCS