Amphan is the Strongest Super Cyclone Ever Recorded in the Bay of Bengal

Caitlin Dempsey

Updated:

Amphan is a powerful cyclone that has formed in the Bay on Bengal.

The storm is the first of the year that has formed in the Northern Indian Ocean and received the named Amphan.

The strengthening weather system was first detected late last week. Since then, it has formed into a power super cyclone (Category 5) and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) has measured gusts at 145kt (270kph) as of the morning of May 18, 2020.

This makes Amphan the strongest super cyclone ever measured in the Bay of Bengal, surpassing the Odisha cyclone (260kph) from 2009.

Current forecasts have Amphan making landfall on Wednesday as either an Extremely or Very Severe Cyclonic Storm near the West Bengal-Bangladesh border.



Free weekly newsletter

Fill out your e-mail address to receive our newsletter!
Email:  

By entering your email address you agree to receive our newsletter and agree with our privacy policy.
You may unsubscribe at any time.



Related

Photo of author
About the author
Caitlin Dempsey
Caitlin Dempsey is the editor of Geography Realm and holds a master's degree in Geography from UCLA as well as a Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) from SJSU.