Satellite image of Cyclone Cheneso

Within the South-West Indian Ocean, the term tropical cyclone is reserved for those systems, that have winds of at least 65 knots (120 km/h; 75 mph). It is the third-highest classification used within the South-West Indian Ocean to classify tropical cyclones with.

Background

The South-West Indian Ocean tropical cyclone basin is located to the south of the Equator between Africa and 90°E.[1] The basin is officially monitored by Météo-France who run the Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre in La Réunion, while other meteorological services such as the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Mauritius Meteorological Service as well as the United States Joint Typhoon Warning Center also monitor the basin.[1] Within the basin a tropical cyclone is a tropical system that has 10-minute maximum sustained wind speeds between 65–89 knots (120–165 km/h; 75–100 mph).[1]

Systems

Name Duration Peak intensity Areas affected Damage
(USD) 		Deaths Refs
Wind speed Pressure
Marcelle 29 April – 9 May, 1973 130 km/h (80 mph) 973 hPa (28.73 inHg) South-Western Australia Unknown None [2][3]
Bernadette October 16 – 28, 1973 150 km/h (90 mph) 985 hPa (29.09 inHg) None None None [4]
Robyn-Deborah February 14 – 29, 1975 150 km/h (90 mph) 964 hPa (28.47 inHg) Madagascar [5]
Barbara December 3 – 19, 1975 175 km/h (110 mph) 980 hPa (28.94 inHg) None None None [6]
Naomi April 21 – May 2, 1983 150 km/h (90 mph) 960 hPa (28.35 inHg) None None None [NB 1][7]
Oscar October 22 – November 1, 1983 140 km/h (85 mph) 965 hPa (28.50 inHg) None None None [NB 1][8]
Konita May 2 – 5, 1993 130 km/h (80 mph) 955 hPa (28.20 inHg) None None None [9]
Kesiny May 2 — 5, 2002 130 km/h (80 mph) 965 hPa (28.50 inHg) Madagascar Unknown 33 [10]
Manou May 1–13, 2003 155 km/h (100 mph) 950 hPa (28.05 inHg) Madagascar Unknown 89 [11][12]
Joalane April 2–11 140 km/h (85 mph) 962 hPa (28.41 inHg) No land areas None None
Carlos February 2 – 10, 2017 130 km/h (80 mph) 965 hPa (28.50 inHg) Réunion, Mauritius None None
Dineo February 13–17 140 km/h (85 mph) 955 hPa (28.20 inHg) Mozambique, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Malawi $217 million 280 [13][14][15]
Ava December 27 – January 9 155 km/h (100 mph) 965 hPa (28.50 inHg) Madagascar $4.62 million 73 [16][17]
Irving January 6–9, 2018 150 km/h (90 mph) 964 hPa (28.47 inHg) No land areas None None
Fakir April 20–24, 2018 130 km/h (80 mph) 975 hPa (28.79 inHg) Madagascar, Réunion, Mauritius $24.5 million 2 [18][19]
Savannah March 18, 2019 165 km/h (105 mph) 966 hPa (28.53 inHg) No land areas None None [20]
Lorna April 28–29, 2019 150 km/h (90 mph) 964 hPa (28.47 inHg) No land areas None None [21]
Belna December 7–9, 2019 155 km/h (100 mph) 955 hPa (28.20 inHg) Seychelles, Mayotte, Comoros, Madagascar $25 million 9 [22]
Calvinia December 31, 2019 – January 1, 2020 120 km/h (75 mph) 972 hPa (28.70 inHg) Mauritius, Rodrigues Unknown None [23]
Gabekile February 16, 2020 130 km/h (80 mph) 980 hPa (28.94 inHg) No land areas None None [24]
Alicia November 12, 2020 130 km/h (80 mph) 975 hPa (28.79 inHg) No land areas None None
Eloise January 22–23, 2021 150 km/h (90 mph) 967 hPa (28.56 inHg) Madagascar, Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Eswatini $10 million 27 [25]
Guambe February 19–20, 2021 165 km/h (105 mph) 953 hPa (28.14 inHg) Madagascar, Mozambique, South Africa, Eswatini $1 million None
Marian March 1–2, 2021 165 km/h (105 mph) 955 hPa (28.20 inHg) None None None
Jobo April 21, 2021 120 km/h (75 mph) 985 hPa (29.09 inHg) Seychelles, Madagascar, Tanzania Unknown 22 [26]
Gombe March 11, 2022 155 km/h (100 mph) 955 hPa (28.20 inHg) Madagascar, Mozambique, Malawi $95 million 72
Cheneso January 25–27, 2023 130 km/h (80 mph) 959 hPa (28.32 inHg) Madagascar Unknown 33
Dingani February 12–14, 2023 140 km/h (85 mph) 971 hPa (28.67 inHg) None None None
Enala February 23, 2023 120 km/h (75 mph) 980 hPa (28.94 inHg) None None None
Belal January 14–17, 2024 150 km/h (90 mph) 964 hPa (28.47 inHg) Mauritius, Réunion Unknown 5

Climatology

Intense tropical cyclones by month
Month Number of storms
January
1
February
0
March
0
April
0
May
0
June
0
July
0
August
0
September
0
October
0
November
0
December
2
Intense tropical cyclones by decade
Decade Number of storms
1970s
0
1980s
0
1990s
0
2000s
0
2010s
2
2020s
1

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b The windspeeds and minimum pressure estimates for these systems, are taken from the archives of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology and compared to the intensity scale for the South-West Indian Ocean.

References

  1. ^ a b c RA I Tropical Cyclone Committee (2023). Tropical Cyclone Operational Plan for the South-West Indian Ocean (PDF) (Report). World Meteorological Organization.
  2. ^ "1973 Tropical Cyclone Marcelle (1973119S09087)". International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
  3. ^ Tropical Cyclone Marcelle 29 April 1973 - 9 May 1973 (PDF) (Report). Australian Bureau of Meteorology. August 13, 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 28, 2012. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
  4. ^ "Saison 1973-1974 des perturbations tropicales dans l'océan indien du sud-ouest" [1973-1974 Tropical disturbance season in the southwestern Indian Ocean]. Météorologie Maritime (in French). No. 87. 1975. pp. 46–49. ISSN 0222-5123.
  5. ^ "1970 Tropical Cyclone Deborah-Robyn (1975014S11091)". International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  6. ^ "Saison 1975-1976 des perturbations tropicales dans l'océan indien du sud-ouest" [1975-1976 Tropical disturbance season in the southwestern Indian Ocean]. Météorologie Maritime (in French). No. 95. 1977. pp. 44–48. ISSN 0222-5123.
  7. ^ "1983 Tropical Cyclone Naomi (1983110S12080)". International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
  8. ^ "1983 Tropical Cyclone Oscar (1983295S08089)". International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
  9. ^ "1993 Intense Tropical Cyclone Konita (1993120S10075)". International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
  10. ^ RSMC La Réunion Tropical Cyclone Centre. South-West Indian Ocean Cyclone Season: 2001–02 (Tropical Cyclone Seasonal Summary). Météo-France.
  11. ^ "Madagascar's cyclone death toll reaches 70". ReliefWeb. Pan African News Agency. May 19, 2003. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
  12. ^ Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters. "EM-DAT: The Emergency Events Database". Université catholique de Louvain.
  13. ^ "Storm Dineo kills at least seven people in Mozambique – govt". Times Live. Reuters. February 16, 2017. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  14. ^ "Flash Appeal: Emergency Response Plan for Mozambique – Cyclone Dineo" (PDF). ReliefWeb. UN Country Team in Mozambique. February 28, 2017. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  15. ^ "Global Catastrophe Recap March 2017" (PDF). Aon Benfield. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
  16. ^ Ny Aina Rahaga (January 23, 2018). "10 milliards d'Ariary pour le rétablissement de l'électricité après le cyclone AVA" (in French). Madagascar Tribune. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  17. ^ "Global Catastrophe Recap January 2018" (PDF). thoughtleadership.aonbenfield.com. Aon Benfield. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  18. ^ "Tropical Storm Fakir turns deadly after unleashing destructive winds, mudslides on La Réunion". AccuWeather. April 26, 2018. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  19. ^ "Global Catastrophe Recap April 2018" (PDF). thoughtleadership.aonbenfield.com. Aon Benfield. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  20. ^ "Cyclone Savannah du 13/03/2019 au 22/03/2019" [Cyclone Savannah from 13/03/2019 to 22/03/2019]. Météo-France. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  21. ^ "2019 Intense Tropical Cyclone Lorna (2019112S04079)". International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
  22. ^ "Cyclone Belna du 02/12/2019 au 11/12/2019" [Cyclone Belna from 02/12/2019 to 11/12/2019]. Météo-France. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  23. ^ "Cyclone Calvinia du 27/12/2019 au 03/01/2020" [Cyclone Calvinia from 27/12/2019 to 03/01/2020]. Météo-France. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  24. ^ "Cyclone Gabekile du 13/02/2020 au 24/02/2020" [Cyclone Gabekile from 13/02/2020 to 24/02/2020]. Météo-France. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  25. ^ "Global Catastrophe Recap – January 2021" (PDF). Aon Benfield. February 9, 2021. p. 7. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  26. ^ Global Catastrophe Recap July 2021 (PDF) (Report). Aon Benfield. August 10, 2021. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
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