1990–91 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season
Encyclopedia
The 1990–91 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season was an average cyclone season, with ten tropical cyclones occurring within the region between 90°E and 160°E. The season officially ran from November 1, 1990, to April 30, 1991 with the first disturbance of the season forming on 10 December and the last disturbance moving out of the region during 11 May. Six people were killed by Cyclone Joy when it made landfall on Australia. During the season, tropical cyclones were monitored by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, who ran Tropical Cyclone Warning Centers (TCWC) in Perth, Darwin, and Brisbane. The United States Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) and Papua New Guinea National Weather Service also monitored systems within the basin during the season. The JTWC designated systems with a number and either a S or a P suffix depending on which side of 135E. The Bureau of Meteorology and Papua New Guinea national Weather Service both used the Australian Tropical Cyclone Intensity Scale, and estimated windspeeds over a ten minute period, while the JTWC estimated sustained winds over a one minute period and are comparable to the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale.
The first two tropical depressions of the season, developed near the Chagos Archipelago before the season officially started on November 1, however neither was monitored by the Reunion Meteorological Service.
. Over the next couple of days the system moved towards the north-west through the Chagos Archipelago
before starting to move towards the south-east. The JTWC then reported early on September 21, that the disturbance had developed into Tropical Depression 01S and initiated advisories on it. Over the next couple of days, despite predictions that 01S would intensify further into a tropical storm, 01S remained at its peak intensity of 55 km/h (35 mph), while moving towards the south-south-west. The JTWC then issued their final advisory on the system during September 25.
, Indonesia
. Throughout out that day the depression developed further, before the Reunion Meteorological Service reported that the depression had intensified into a moderate tropical storm with Mauritius Meteorological service naming it Elma. Over the next few days the depression moved towards the south-southeast while gradually intensifying further.
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Seasonal summary
The first two tropical depressions of the season, developed near the Chagos Archipelago before the season officially started on November 1, however neither was monitored by the Reunion Meteorological Service.
Tropical Depression 01S
On September 19, the JTWC started to monitor a tropical disturbance that was located about 155 km (96.3 mi) to the north-east of Diego GarciaDiego Garcia
Diego Garcia is a tropical, footprint-shaped coral atoll located south of the equator in the central Indian Ocean at 7 degrees, 26 minutes south latitude. It is part of the British Indian Ocean Territory [BIOT] and is positioned at 72°23' east longitude....
. Over the next couple of days the system moved towards the north-west through the Chagos Archipelago
Chagos Archipelago
The Chagos Archipelago , is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 individual tropical islands in the Indian Ocean; situated some due south of the Maldives archipelago. This chain of islands are the southernmost archipelago of the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge a long submarine mountain range...
before starting to move towards the south-east. The JTWC then reported early on September 21, that the disturbance had developed into Tropical Depression 01S and initiated advisories on it. Over the next couple of days, despite predictions that 01S would intensify further into a tropical storm, 01S remained at its peak intensity of 55 km/h (35 mph), while moving towards the south-south-west. The JTWC then issued their final advisory on the system during September 25.
Tropical Depression 02S
On October 15, the JTWC started to monitor a tropical disturbance that was located about 2020 km (1260 mi) to the north-east of Port Louis in Mauritius. During that day the disturbance moved towards the south-west, before it made a sharp turn and moving towards the north-east during the next day, the disturbance then started to move towards the north-west during October 17 and moved through the Chagos Archipelago. Early on October 18, the JTWC reported that the disturbance had developed into Tropical Depression 02S and initiated advisories on it while it was located about 2000 km (1242 mi) to the north-east of Port Louis in Mauritius. Over the next day, despite predictions that 02S would intensify into a tropical storm, 02S remained at its peak intensity of 55 km/h (35 mph), while turning and starting to move towards the south-west. The JTWC then issued their final advisory on the depression, early on October 20.Severe Tropical Storm Elma
Early on February 26, the JTWC, Reunion and Perth Meteorological Services, started to monitor Tropical Depression 11S, that had developed out of an area of enhanced convection, about 2200 km (1,367 mi) to the south-east of JakartaJakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. Throughout out that day the depression developed further, before the Reunion Meteorological Service reported that the depression had intensified into a moderate tropical storm with Mauritius Meteorological service naming it Elma. Over the next few days the depression moved towards the south-southeast while gradually intensifying further.
Tropical Depression G1
On March 30, the Reunion Meteorological Service started to monitor a tropical depression that was located about 300 km (185 mi) to the north-east of Toamasina, Madagascar. Over the next few days it gradually developed and moved towards the west, before MFR reported that it had reached its 10-minute peak intensity of 65 km/h (35 mph) early on April 2, as it was making landfall on Madagascar. On April 3, after the system had made landfall, MFR reported that the depression had dissipated over land and issued their final advisory.Season effects
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Chagos Archipelago
The Chagos Archipelago , is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 individual tropical islands in the Indian Ocean; situated some due south of the Maldives archipelago. This chain of islands are the southernmost archipelago of the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge a long submarine mountain range...
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See also
- Atlantic hurricane seasons: 19901990 Atlantic hurricane seasonThe 1990 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active Atlantic hurricane season since 1969. It officially began on June 1, 1990, and lasted until November 30, 1990. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin...
, 19911991 Atlantic hurricane seasonThe 1991 Atlantic hurricane season was the first season in over 24 years in which no hurricanes developed from tropical waves, which are the source for most North Atlantic tropical cyclones. The hurricane season officially began on June 1, and ended on November 30. It was the least... - Pacific hurricane seasons: 19901990 Pacific hurricane seasonThe 1990 Pacific hurricane season is the fifth most active season on record. The 1990 season officially started on May 15 in the eastern Pacific, and on June 1 in the central Pacific, and lasted until November 30. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical...
, 19911991 Pacific hurricane seasonThe 1991 Pacific hurricane season was an event in tropical cyclone meteorology. The worst storm this year was Tropical Depression Five-E, which killed one person in Mexico. Elsewhere, Tropical Storm Ignacio injured forty people in Mexico, and Hurricane Fefa caused flooding in Hawaii... - Pacific typhoon seasons: 19901990 Pacific typhoon seasonTropical Storm Lewis was a minimal tropical storm that only held said intensity for 2 days.-Severe Tropical Storm Nathan :A tropical disturbance trekked across the Philippines in mid June, upon entering the South China Sea a depression formed. The depression was upgraded to Tropical Storm Nathan...
, 19911991 Pacific typhoon seasonTropical Storm Enrique formed in the eastern Pacific basin, where it reached it's peak intensity as a category 1 Hurricane, becoming Hurricane Enrique. Enrique lasted for 6 days before becoming a remnant low, shortly after entering in the central Pacific.... - North Indian Ocean cyclone seasons: 19901990 North Indian Ocean cyclone seasonOn April 17, an area of convective activity formed to the east of Sri Lanka, and organized itself rapidly before a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert, was issued later that day. It was designated as Tropical Depression 01B by the JTWC early the next day...
, 19911991 North Indian Ocean cyclone seasonThe 1991 North Indian Ocean Cyclone season was the period in which tropical cyclones formed to the north of the equator in the Indian ocean. During the season tropical cyclones were monitored by the India Meteorological Department and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. The IMD assigned all...