The 1962–63 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season was an average cyclone season, although it began early with the first October storm since 1911. Two storms formed in December, both of them passing near the

Mascarene Islands The Mascarene Islands (, ) or Mascarenes or Mascarenhas Archipelago is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar consisting of islands belonging to the Republic of Mauritius as well as the French department of Réunion. Their na ...

Systems

Moderate Tropical Storm Amy

Toward the beginning of October, an area of

low pressure In meteorology, a low-pressure area (LPA), low area or low is a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations. It is the opposite of a high-pressure area. Low-pressure areas are commonly associated with inclem ...

persisted near

Diego Garcia Diego Garcia is the largest island of the Chagos Archipelago. It has been used as a joint UK–U.S. military base since the 1970s, following the expulsion of the Chagossians by the UK government. The Chagos Islands are set to become a former B ...

, while a strong

anticyclone A high-pressure area, high, or anticyclone, is an area near the surface of a planet where the atmospheric pressure is greater than the pressure in the surrounding regions. Highs are middle-scale meteorological features that result from interpl ...

stretched from

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

Île Amsterdam (), also known as Amsterdam Island or New Amsterdam (), is an island of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands in the southern Indian Ocean that together with neighbouring Île Saint-Paul to the south forms one of the five districts of the t ...

. On October 9, Diego Garcia reported westerly winds and falling pressure, indicating that a

tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

developed that day. This marked the first October tropical storm formation in the basin since 1911. Given the name Amy, the storm moved to the west-southwest, tracked by

Television Infrared Observation Satellite Television InfraRed Observation Satellite (TIROS) is a series of early weather satellites launched by the United States, beginning with TIROS-1 in 1960. TIROS was the first satellite that was capable of remote sensing of the Earth, enabling sc ...

(TIROS). Gradual intensification occurred, aided by the anticyclone to the south, and Amy reached peak winds of around on October 10. Passing north of

Rodrigues Rodrigues ( ; Mauritian Creole, Creole: ) is a Autonomous administrative division, autonomous Outer islands of Mauritius, outer island of the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, about east of Mauritius. It is part of the Mascarene Isl ...

island, the storm's track shifted more westerly as the anticyclone to the south strengthened. Amy later weakened as it approached the east coast of Madagascar, dissipating on October 17. Amy produced

hail Hail is a form of solid Precipitation (meteorology), precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailsto ...

stones on Rodrigues while passing nearby, and brushed St. Brandon with gusty winds. The storm also dropped heavy rainfall and produced moderate waves on Réunion.

Tropical Cyclone Bertha

At the end of November, an area of low pressure persisted near Diego Garcia, associated with the

Intertropical Convergence Zone The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ , or ICZ), known by sailors as the doldrums or the calms because of its monotonous windless weather, is the area where the northeast and the southeast trade winds converge. It encircles Earth near the t ...

(ITCZ). A circulation developed southwest of the island on November 29, which moved generally to the southwest due to an anticyclone to the south. On December 1, the low pressure area was confirmed to have developed into Tropical Storm Bertha while near the

. While in the vicinity, the storm produced winds of in Rodrigues. The storm turned to the south, after a polar low weakened the ridge to the south. Bertha passed between Rodrigues and Réunion on December 3, producing only above normal seas. At its peak, the storm reached tropical cyclone status, or peak winds of at least . Bertha passed east of

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

on December 4 while continuing generally southward. The storm became

extratropical 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 ...

the next day, and was last noted on December 6.

Severe Tropical Storm Cecile

As early as December 18, an area of low pressure persisted near Diego Garcia. By December 24, falling pressures and increasing winds indicated that Tropical Storm Cecile had developed near St. Brandon. At its peak, the storm reached tropical cyclone status, or peak winds of at least . On December 25, Cecile passed just east of St. Brandon, where it produced winds of and a pressure of . The storm tracked southward, passing between Mauritius and Rodrigues while weakening. Cecile turned more to the south-southeast in tandem with a large anticyclone moving eastward. The storm was last noted on December 28, having become extratropical that day.

Tropical Cyclone Delia

Delia originated near Diego Garcia and moved southwestward, passing north of St. Brandon, east of Madagascar, and west of Réunion. It lasted from January 12 to January 20.

Severe Tropical Storm Emma

According to the MFR, Emma was a short-lived tropical storm that persisted southeast of Rodrigues, although other warning agencies tracked it for much longer, following it from the Australian basin for 12 days.

Severe Tropical Storm Fanny

Fanny developed northeast of St. Brandon and moved to the west-southwest, crossing Madagascar before dissipating on February 19.

Tropical Cyclone Grace

On February 12, Tropical Storm Grace was moving west-southwestward away from Diego Garcia. It later turned to the south-southeast, passing west of Rodrigues, dissipating on February 22.

Moderate Tropical Storm Hilda

Tropical Storm Hilda was a short-lived storm that originated in the

Mozambique Channel The Mozambique Channel (, , ) is an arm of the Indian Ocean located between the Southeast African countries of Madagascar and Mozambique. The channel is about long and across at its narrowest point, and reaches a depth of about off the coa ...

and moved south-southeastward, lasting from February 27 to March 2.

Moderate Tropical Storm Irene

Tropical Storm Irene was a westward moving storm that originated on March 3, passed north of

Tromelin Island Tromelin Island (; , ), once called the Isle of Sand, is a low, flat island in the Indian Ocean about north of Réunion and about east of Madagascar. Both France and Mauritius claim sovereignty over the islands, and France includes it in t ...

, and dissipated on March 5 northeast of the north coast of Madagascar.

Tropical Cyclone Julie

The final storm of the season, Julie formed on March 4 to the southwest of Diego Garcia. It moved southwestward and later turned to the south-southeast, passing east of Rodrigues, before dissipating on March 11.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1962-63 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season South-West Indian Ocean cyclone seasons