Cyclone Vardah

Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Vardah

Very severe cyclonic storm (IMD scale)
Category 1 (Saffir–Simpson scale)
Vardah at peak strength on 11 December
Formed	December 6, 2016
Dissipated	December 18, 2016
(Remnant low after December 13)
Highest winds	3-minute sustained: 130 km/h (80 mph) 1-minute sustained: 140 km/h (85 mph)
Lowest pressure	982 hPa (mbar); 29 inHg
Fatalities	38 total
Damage	$2.1 billion (2016 USD)
Areas affected	Thailand, Sumatra, Malaysia, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, South India
Part of the 2016 North Indian Ocean cyclone season

Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Vardah was the fourth Cyclonic Storm, as well as the most intense tropical cyclone of the 2016 North Indian Ocean cyclone season. The system struck the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, as well as South India.

Originating as a low pressure area near the Malay Peninsula on December 3, the storm was designated a depression on December 6. It gradually intensified into a Deep Depression on the following day, skirting off the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and intensified into a Cyclonic Storm on December 8. Maintaining a generally westward track thereafter, Vardah consolidated into a Severe Cyclonic Storm on December 9, before peaking as a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm, with winds of 80 mph (130 km/h), and a minimum central pressure of 982 hPa (29.0 inHg), on December 11. Weakening into a Severe Cyclonic Storm, Vardah made landfall close to Chennai on the following day, and degenerated into remnant low on December 13.

The name Vardah, suggested by Pakistan, which refers to the red rose.

Under the influence of a persistent area of convection, a low pressure area formed in the Malay Peninsula and adjoining north Sumatra, in early December 2016. The low pressure area emerged as a tropical disturbance over the next several days, as it slowly moved towards the southeast Bay of Bengal. On December 6, The IMD classified the system as Depression BOB 06, as it had sufficiently organized itself, with winds of 45 km/h (30 mph). Owing to low wind shear and favorable sea surface temperatures, the storm gradually intensified into a Deep Depression on the following day. Skirting off the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as a Deep Depression, BOB 06 was upgraded to a Cyclonic Storm by the IMD and JTWC, in the early hours of December 8, and was assigned the name Vardah.

With conditions favorable for further development, Vardah intensified into a Severe Cyclonic Storm on December 9. Although predicted to maintain its intensity, Vardah strengthened further, as it followed a generally west-northwestwards track, prompting the IMD to upgrade its intensity to a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm status, on December 10. Gradually intensifying as it moved westwards, Vardah reached its peak intensity on December 11, with maximum sustained winds of 130 km/h (80 mph), and a minimum central pressure of 982 mbar (29.00 inHg).