Cyclone Nilofar 2014

Table of Contents:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Background
Formation of Nilofar Cyclone
Details of event
Track and intensity
Dispersion of Cyclone
Tropical Cyclone Naming
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.
1

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.

Maximum sustained surface wind

Category of cyclonic

0N/ long. 0E)

speed (kmph)

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

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
3

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 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-cyclonenilofar/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-nilofaraffected.html
6. http://hurricanes.einnews.com/article_detail/232041398?
lcode=kHvyDx6ycMFEpvhiitDDJN3FPznV9jKx9aisxJeQh0g%3D
7. http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/oman-pakistan-indiaon-alert-f/36360864
8. 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