Cyclone Nilofar 2014

Table of Contents:

1. Background2. Formation of Nilofar Cyclone3. Details of event4. Track and intensity5. Dispersion of Cyclone6. Tropical Cyclone Naming7. References

1. Background:

The Nilofar Cyclone 2014 was an ongoing event in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation. The North Indian Ocean cyclone season has no official bounds, but cyclones tend to form between April and December, with the peak from May to November. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northern Indian Ocean.

2. Formation of Cyclone:

Nilofar originated from a low pressure area in the middle of Arabian Sea that intensified into a depression on October 25. It slowly consolidated and reached cyclonic storm strength the following day. The system rapidly intensified in the following days, reaching a peak intensity of 950 mbar (28.05 inHg) on October 28 with maximum sustained winds of nearly 215 kph (135 mph), making Nilofar a very severe cyclonic storm and the equivalent of a minimal Category 4 hurricane in the eastern Pacific or Atlantic basins. Over time the storm tracked northeastwards towards an area of high vertical wind shear, causing the storm to rapidly weaken. The name Nilofar, referring to the water lily, was suggested by Pakistan.

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3. Details of Event:

Name of the cyclone Nilofar

Category of Cyclone (IMD Scale) Very Severe Cyclonic Storm

Category of Cyclone (Simpson Scale) Category 4

Name Contributed by Pakistan

Originated at Arabian Sea

Expected landfall on (date) 30th October 2014

Countries to be affected: India, Pakistan, Oman

Maximum wind speed 165km per hour

4, Track and intensity of the cyclone:

Date/Time(IST)Position (Lat.

0N/ long. 0E)

Maximum sustained surface wind

speed (kmph)

Category of cyclonic

disturbance

30-10-2014/0530 19.5/63.6 100-110 gusting to 120 Severe Cyclonic Storm

30-10-2014/1130 19.8/64.3 90-100 gusting to 110 Severe Cyclonic Storm

30-10-2014/1730 20.3/65.0 80-90 gusting to 100 Cyclonic Storm

30-10-2014/2330 20.8/65.7 70-80 gusting to 90 Cyclonic Storm

31-10-2014/0530 21.3/66.4 60-70 gusting to 80 Cyclonic Storm

31-10-2014/1730 22.5/67.8 40-50 gusting to 60 Depression

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Figure 1: Track of Cyclone Nilofar over Arabian Sea

5. Dispersion:

The much-feared tropical cyclone Nilofar almost completed its cycle on Friday 31st Oct without hitting the coastlines of Pakistan and India. It turned into ‘low pressure’ in the Arabian Sea which caused light rain in Karachi and some parts of lower Sindh late in the night. Nilofar lost its battle with disruptive wind shear (strong winds above the surface). The wind shear in northeast direction was weakening Nilofar, and by Thursday, Oct. 30 maximum sustained winds had dropped below hurricane-strength to 50 knots (57.5 mph/92.6 km/h). By Thursday Cyclone Nilofar lost 50 percent intensity which dropped further by 25 percent by Friday evening.

6. Tropical Cyclone Naming:

The practice of naming storms (tropical cyclones) began years ago in order to help in the quick identification of storms in warning messages because names are presumed to be far easier to remember than numbers and technical terms. Since 1953, Atlantic tropical storms have been named from lists originated by the National Hurricane Center. They are now maintained and updated by an international committee of the World Meteorological Organization. The original name lists featured only women's names. In 1979, men's names were introduced and they alternate with the women's names on the basis of even and odd months. On the basis of

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tropical cyclones WMO has divided the world in several parts one of which is Northern Indian Ocean which includes following countries; Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand. These countries have produced 8 lists consisting of eight names for identification of cyclone. One name is given by each country in every list. The identification system covers both the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal.

The eight names given by Pakistan are Fanoos, Nargis, Laila, Neelum, Nilofar, Vardah, Titli and Bulbul. While India gave these names Agni, Akash, Bijli, Jal, Lehar, Magh, Sagar, and Vayu. After the cyclone Nilofar, the names given to upcoming cyclones (in order) will be Ashoba (Srilanka), Komen (Thailand), Chapala (Bangladesh), Megh (India), Raonu (Maldives), Kyant (Myanmar) , Nida (Oman) and Warda (Pakistan).

7. References:

1. http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/india-pakistan-cyclone-nilofar/ 36512242

2. www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/nilofar-arabian-sea/ 3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_North_Indian_Ocean_cyclone_season 4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Nilofar 5. http://phys.org/news/2014-10-nasa-tropical-cyclone-nilofar-affected.html 6. http://hurricanes.einnews.com/article_detail/232041398?

lcode=kHvyDx6ycMFEpvhiitDDJN3FPznV9jKx9aisxJeQh0g%3D7. http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/oman-pakistan-india-on-alert-f/

363608648. http://www.mapsofindia.com/mapinnews/cyclone-nilofar/ 9. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_cyclone_naming 10. http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/www/tcp/Storm-naming.html

The End

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