page_title: Cyclone Amara
section_title: Meteorological history
hierarchical_section_title: Cyclone Amara / Meteorological history
caption_attribution_description: English: Track map of Tropical Cyclone Amara of the 2013–14 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season. The points show the location of the storm at 6-hour intervals. The colour represents the storm's maximum sustained wind speeds as classified in the Saffir–Simpson scale (see below), and the shape of the data points represent the nature of the storm, according to the legend below. Saffir–Simpson scale Tropical depression≤38 mph≤62 km/h Category 3111–129 mph178–208 km/h Tropical storm39–73 mph63–118 km/h Category 4130–156 mph209–251 km/h Category 174–95 mph119–153 km/h Category 5≥157 mph≥252 km/h Category 296–110 mph154–177 km/h Unknown Storm type Tropical cyclone Subtropical cyclone Extratropical cyclone / Remnant low / Tropical disturbance / Monsoon depression
context_page_description: Cyclone Amara brought stormy conditions to Rodrigues in December 2013. Amara was the first named storm in the southwest Indian Ocean during the later half of 2013, and developed from a disturbance within the monsoon trough on December 14. The following day, the system attained tropical depression status. Despite its ill-defined organization, the depression was able to continue strengthening, reaching moderate tropical storm status on December 16 as it tracked southwest. Situated in a favorable atmospheric environment, a period of rapid intensification ensued after Amara reached tropical cyclone status on December 18. After fluctuating in strength, the cyclone peaked with maximum sustained winds of 205 km/h and a minimum barometric pressure of 933 mbar on December 21, making it an intense tropical cyclone based on the intensity scale utilized by Météo-France. Shortly after, wind shear strengthened as Amara tracked southeast, resulting in a weakening phase. The shearing effects caused the cyclone to rapidly decay, and by December 23, Amara degenerated into a remnant low.
context_section_description: The origin of Amara can be traced back to an area of low pressure embedded within a monsoon trough southeast of Diego Garcia on December 13, 2013. Computer models suggested that surrounding atmospheric conditions would later become more conducive for tropical cyclogenesis. Over the course of the day, the localized area of circulation remained sheared, though convection remained persistent. Despite the hindering atmospheric environment, the system organized faster than anticipated, and was classified as a tropical disturbance by Météo-France at 1200 UTC on December 14. Shortly after development, the disturbance underwent a reformation phase and consequently a new center of circulation developed, allowing the system to reach tropical depression status early on December 15. Nonetheless, the storm's overall structure remained ill-defined due to the presence of wind shear and multiple mesovortices.
  At 1330 UTC on December 16, the Mauritius Meteorological Services designated the system as a moderate tropical storm, thus assigning it the name Amara. At the time the storm had a minimum barometric pressure estimated at 995 mbar (hPa; 29.39 inHg). During the subsequent hours, the storm began to slowly track west-southwest under the periphery of a nearby subtropical ridge. Amara's circulation center consolidated and rainbands became more tightly wrapped around the center, at which time the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) began to monitor the system. Late on December 17, Amara began to develop an eye, observable via microwave imagery. Based on the antecedent developments, Météo-France upgraded the system to severe tropical storm intensity at 0000 UTC the following day. Nine hours later, the JTWC upgraded Amara to tropical cyclone intensity, with Météo-France following suit three hours later. Situated in a location with low vertical wind shear and outspread outflow, Amara was forecast to continue strengthening, though at the same time the cyclone was expected to move very slowly due to its interaction with weak steering currents in between two subtropical ridges. Rapid intensification ensued throughout the latter hours of December 18, coinciding with the development of a ragged eye feature within the tropical cyclone on infrared imagery. Météo-France upgraded Amara to intense tropical cyclone status at 0000 UTC on December 19. By this time the storm's central pressure had fallen to 944 mbar (hPa; 27.88 inHg). Shortly after, however, Amara's once well-defined outflow pattern became suppressed, resulting in a slight weakening and a downgrade from intense tropical cyclone status just twelve hours later. 
  This weakening phase was brief, and shortly thereafter Amara was reclassified as an intense tropical cyclone on December 21. At 0600 UTC that day, Amara reached its peak intensity as an intense tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 205 km/h (125 mph) and a minimum pressure of 933 mbar (hPa; 27.55 inHg). Following peak intensity, an approaching upper-level, mid-latitude trough increased wind shear and forced the storm towards the southeast, resulting in the cyclone weakening. By 0600 UTC the next day, Météo-France determined that Amara had weakened below intense tropical cyclone status. The strong wind shear continued to take its toll on the cyclone, stripping away and exposing Amara's low-level circulation center away from the rest of its associated convection. At 1200 UTC on December 22, Amara weakened to severe tropical storm intensity, and was later downgraded further to tropical depression intensity the following day. Amara's downgrade to such an intensity marked the cessation of Météo-France's tropical cyclone bulletins. The remnant vortex associated with Amara continued to persist over the next few days and curved westward, though it lacked persistent convection. The remnant circulation gradually became increasingly diffused and was last noted by Météo-France at 1200 UTC on December 28.
caption: Map plotting the track and the intensity of the storm, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale
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