WINDS,STORMS AND CYCLONES
Odisha cyclone
The 1999 Odisha cyclone was the most intense recorded tropical cyclone in the North Indian Ocean and among the most destructive in the region.
The 1999 Odisha cyclone organized into a tropical depression in the Andaman Sea on 25 October.
The disturbance gradually strengthened as it took a west-north-westerly path, reaching cyclonic storm strength the next day. Aided by highly favourable conditions, the storm rapidly intensified, attaining super cyclonic storm intensity on 28 October, before peaking on the next day with winds of 260 km/h (160 mph) and a record-low pressure of 912 mbar
The storm maintained this intensity as it made landfall on Odisha on 29 October.
The cyclone steadily weakened due to persistent land interaction and dry air, remaining quasi-stationary for two days before slowly drifting offshore as a much weaker system
The storm dissipated on 4 November over the Bay of Bengal.
The storm maintained this intensity as it made landfall on Odisha on 29 October.
The cyclone steadily weakened due to persistent land interaction and dry air, remaining quasi-stationary for two days before slowly drifting offshore as a much weaker system
The storm dissipated on 4 November over the Bay of Bengal. CYCLONE NAMES
The tradition started with hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean, where tropical storms that reach sustained wind speeds of 39 miles per hour were given names. Incidentally, hurricanes, typhoons, cyclones are all the same, just different names for tropical storms in different parts of the world; Hurricane in the Atlantic, Typhoon in the Pacific and Cyclone in the Indian Ocean.
Cyclones were usually not named. The tradition started with hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean, where tropical storms that reach sustained wind speeds of 39 miles per hour were given names.
(Incidentally, hurricanes, typhoons, cyclones are all the same, just different names for tropical storms in different parts of the world; Hurricane in the Atlantic, Typhoon in the Pacific and Cyclone in the Indian Ocean).
If the storm's wind speed reaches or crosses 74 mph, it is then classified into a hurricane/cyclone/typhoon.
Tropical storms are given names and they retain the name if they develop into a cyclone/hurricane/typhoon. When did we start naming Cyclones?
Names have been given to Atlantic storms for the past few hundreds of years. Initially, people living in the Caribbean Islands would name the storms after the saint of the day from the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar for the day on which the hurricane/cyclone occurred.
The tradition continued till World War II, when forecasters and meteorologists started using female names to identify the storms.
In 1953, the US weather service officially adopted the idea and created a new phonetic alphabet (international) of women's names from A to W, leaving out Q, U, X, Y and Z.
Subsequent protests by women's liberation bodies in the 60s and 70s helped change the naming procedure for the storms to include male names in 1978.
The year's first tropical storm was given the name beginning with the letter "A", the second with the letter "B" and so on through the alphabet. In even-numbered years, odd-numbered storms got men's names and in odd-numbered years, odd-numbered storms got women's names.
The naming of tropical cyclones is a recent phenomenon. The process of naming cyclones involves several countries in the region and is done under the aegis of the World Meteorological Organization.
For the Indian Ocean region, deliberations for naming cyclones began in 2000 and a formula was agreed upon in 2004. Eight countries in the region - Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand - all contributed a set of names which are assigned sequentially whenever a cyclonic storm develops.
The name Nilam was contributed by Pakistan,Murjan - a name that came from Oman. The next in line are Mahasen (from Sri Lanka) and Phailin (from Thailand).
The list of names India has added to the database includes Agni, Akash, Bijli, Jal (cyclones which have all occurred since 2004).
The Indian names in the queue are Leher, Megh, Sagar and Vayu, while those suggested by Pakistan include Nilofar, Titli and Bulbul.