Cyclone duo hits Middle East – Severe Tropical Storm Mekunu to hit Oman, may become Oman’s strongest storm on record

Desdemona Despair

25 May 2018 (NOAA) – The NOAA-20 satellite captured this image of severe tropical cyclone Mekunu nearing the southern Arabian Peninsula on 24 May 2018. The dangerous Category 3 storm rapidly intensified in the warm waters of the Arabian Sea and had sustained winds of 115 mph, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center reported in its latest update. Forecasts predict the storm will make landfall in southwestern Oman, where it will bring very heavy rainfall and cause life-threatening flooding. Media outlets have reported more than 40 people missing after Mekunu battered the Yemeni island of Socotra earlier this week.

According to NOAA’s historical hurricane tracks database, few cyclones of this strength have made landfall along the southern Arabian Peninsula. If Mekunu comes ashore at its current intensity, it will become Oman’s strongest storm on record.

Mekunu is the second storm to form near the Arabian Peninsula in recent days. Last week, another rare storm passed through the Gulf of Aden, bringing unusually heavy rains and flooding to Somalia and Djibouti.

The NOAA-20 satellite’s VIIRS sensor provides twice daily global coverage of the Earth, at 750-meter resolution across its entire scan. High-resolution visible and infrared images from the satellite allow forecasters and atmospheric scientists to study high-impact weather events, including tropical storms and hurricanes.

Severe Tropical Storm Mekunu in the Arabian Sea

By Kathryn Hansen
23 May 2018

(NASA) – Within the span of one week, two tropical cyclones barreled down on the Middle East.

Tropical Cyclone Sagar was the first to hit, making landfall in Somalia on May 19, 2018. On that day, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a natural-color image (above) of the storm. Maximum sustained winds reached 55 knots (65 miles or 100 kilometers per hour)—the equivalent of a tropical storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale. The storm delivered more than a year’s worth of rain to parts of the country, which has been coping with years of drought. According to Reliefweb, damage from Sagar’s floodwaters and wind displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

According to NOAA’s database of historical hurricane tracks, tropical cyclones are infrequent in this part of the Arabian Sea, and the region can go years without a storm. When they develop, they tend to occur in spring and autumn. It is less common for tropical cyclones to travel so far west into the Gulf of Aden. Check out this map to see the tracks of previous storms.

Days after Sagar made landfall, a second tropical cyclone barreled across the Arabian Sea. The second image, acquired by MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite, shows Tropical Cyclone Mekunu on 23 May 2018. On that day, winds reached 65 knots (75 miles or 120 kilometers per hour)—the equivalent of a category 1 hurricane—and forecasters called for it to continue to strengthen.

Mekunu is not likely to travel as far west as Sagar. Instead, the storm is expected to move north-northwest and make landfall in Oman by about 26 May 2018.

Cyclone Duo Hits the Middle East