page_title: 1996 Andhra Pradesh cyclone
section_title: Meteorological history
hierarchical_section_title: 1996 Andhra Pradesh cyclone / Meteorological history
caption_attribution_description: Saffir-Simpson Hurricane ScaleTDTS12345 English: Cyclone 07B 1996 track. Uses the color scheme from the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.
context_page_description: The 1996 Andhra Pradesh cyclone was a small but powerful storm that left heavy damage in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It formed on 4 November in the eastern Bay of Bengal. Moving westward, it quickly organized and developed a well-defined eye. On 6 November, the cyclone struck about 50 km south of Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh at peak intensity. The India Meteorological Department estimated peak winds of 145 km/h, while the American-based Joint Typhoon Warning Center assessed peak winds of 215 km/h. Soon after landfall, the cyclone weakened and dissipated by 7 November.
  Ahead of the storm, about 225,000 families evacuated, although many towns lacked proper storm shelters. When the cyclone made landfall, it produced strong winds up to 100 km inland, dropped 210 mm of rainfall across a 40 km region, and flooded over 250 villages along a 60 km portion of the coast. About 70% of the overall damage was in East Godavari district, where two villages were entirely destroyed. The storm destroyed 241,802 ha of crops and killed millions of cattle and chicken. Across Andhra Pradesh, the storm damaged 647,554 houses, including over 10,000 that were destroyed.
context_section_description: On 30 October, a Pacific tropical depression crossed the Kra Isthmus into the Bay of Bengal, dissipating the next day over Myanmar. A new area of convection, or thunderstorms, developed over the Andaman Sea on 1 November
   The system was located within the monsoon trough, and a weak flow steered it slowly westward across the Bay of Bengal, bringing it briefly over southwestern Myanmar. After the convection organized more, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) issued a tropical cyclone formation alert at 07:30 UTC on 3 November. At 12:00 UTC that day, the agency initiated advisories on the system, designating it Tropical Cyclone 07B about 645 km (400 mi) west of Yangon, Myanmar. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) – the official Regional Specialized Meteorological Center for the basin – did not classify the system until 4 November; at 15:00 UTC, the agency designated it as a depression.
  Located beneath the axis of an upper-level ridge, the depression was able to intensify and organize more, with prominent outflow developing. On 5 November, the IMD upgraded the system to a deep depression and later to a cyclonic storm. At 06:00 UTC on the same day, the JTWC upgraded the storm to the equivalent of a minimal hurricane, estimating 1 minute winds of 120 km/h (75 mph). It continued westward toward eastern India at a slow pace, later turning more to the west-northwest. Early on 6 November, the storm began rapidly intensifying, and the IMD upgraded the storm to a severe cyclonic storm and later a very severe cyclonic storm. At 04:00 UTC that day, an irregular eye formed in the middle of the central dense overcast, which quickly became more circular and distinct. At 06:00 UTC on 6 November, the JTWC estimated peak 1 minute winds of 215 km/h (130 mph), the equivalent of a Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, and a minimum barometric pressure of 927 mbar (27.4 inHg). The IMD assessed a much lower intensity, estimating 3 minute winds of 145 km/h (90 mph) based on a Dvorak rating of 4.5.
  While approaching land, the eye contracted from a peak width of 64 km (40 mi) to 17 km (11 mi). At 16:00 UTC on 6 November, the cyclone made landfall about 50 km (30 mi) south of Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh along the east coast of India. The estimated landfall pressure was 978 mbar (28.9 inHg). It was a smaller-than-normal cyclone, only 450 km (280 mi) in diameter. The storm rapidly weakened after moving ashore, deteriorating into a deep depression early on 7 November. The JTWC issued their last advisory at 06:00 UTC that day, and the IMD downgraded the system to a remnant low pressure area over Telangana at 12:00 UTC.
caption: Map plotting the track and the intensity of the storm, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale
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