Cyclone Gonu

Super Cyclonic Storm Gonu

Super cyclonic storm (IMD scale)
Category 5 (Saffir–Simpson scale)
Gonu near peak intensity on June 4
Formed	June 1, 2007
Dissipated	June 7, 2007
Highest winds	3-minute sustained: 235 km/h (145 mph) 1-minute sustained: 270 km/h (165 mph)
Lowest pressure	920 hPa (mbar); 27.17 inHg
Fatalities	78 total, 37 missing
Damage	$4.4 billion (2007 USD)
Areas affected	Oman, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Pakistan
Part of the 2007 North Indian Ocean cyclone season

Super Cyclonic Storm Gonu (also simply known as Cyclone Gonu) is the strongest tropical cyclone on record in the Arabian Sea, and is also the strongest named cyclone in the northern Indian Ocean. The second named tropical cyclone of the 2007 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Gonu developed from a persistent area of convection in the eastern Arabian Sea on June 1, 2007. With a favorable upper-level environment and warm sea surface temperatures, it rapidly intensified to attain peak winds of 235 km/h (145 mph) on June 4, according to the India Meteorological Department. Gonu weakened after encountering dry air and cooler waters, and early on June 6, it made landfall on the easternmost tip of Oman, becoming the strongest tropical cyclone to hit the Arabian Peninsula. It then turned northward into the Gulf of Oman, and dissipated on June 7 after making landfall in southern Iran, the first landfall in the country since 1898.

Intense tropical cyclones like Gonu are extremely rare over the Arabian Sea, and most storms in this area tend to be small and dissipate quickly. The cyclone caused 50 deaths and about $4.2 billion in damage (2007 USD) in Oman, where the cyclone was considered the nation's worst natural disaster. Gonu dropped heavy rainfall near the eastern coastline, reaching up to 610 mm (24 inches), which caused flooding and heavy damage. In Iran, the cyclone caused 28 deaths and $216 million in damage (2007 USD).

Toward the end of May 2007, the monsoon trough spawned a low pressure area in the eastern Arabian Sea. By May 31, an organized tropical disturbance was located about 645 km (400 mi) south of Mumbai, India, with cyclonic convection, or thunderstorm activity, and a well-defined mid-level circulation. The disturbance initially lacked a distinct low-level circulation; instead it consisted of strong divergence along the western end of a surface trough of low pressure. A favorable upper-level environment allowed convection to improve, and by late on June 1, the system developed to the extent that the India Meteorological Department (IMD) classified it as a depression. It tracked westward along the southwestern periphery of a mid-level ridge over southern India. Convection continued to organize, and early on June 2 the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) classified it Tropical Cyclone 02A about 685 km (425 mi) southwest of Mumbai.