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

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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

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, 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

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, and encompasses the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, between the

and the

. The basin is officially monitored by the

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

, 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.

Background

Systems

Climatology

See also

Notes

References