Season Summary
The first storm of the season developed on May 18 out of an area of low pressure over the Bay of Bengal. It reached its peak intensity with winds of 130 km/h (80 mph) before making landfall near Chittagong, Bangladesh. The storm dissipated shortly after. Later that month, a short-lived storm developed over the Arabian Sea and dissipated the next day without impacting land. The most intense storm of the season formed in early June off the southwestern coast of India. It slowly traveled towards the west, remaining relatively weak before turning towards the north and intensifying. The storm reached its peak intensity with winds of 195 km/h (120 mph) shortly before making landfall near Porbandar in the Indian state of Gujarat. The cyclone rapidly dissipated on the same day.
After three months of inactivity, five storms developed in late September and October. Two of them strengthened into tropical storms, neither of which impacted land. In early November, the sixth tropical cyclone of the season developed in the Bay of Bengal. The storm quickly developed and reached its peak intensity upon landfall with winds of 155 km/h (100 mph). The storm rapidly dissipated the same day it made landfall. Shortly after 06B dissipated, the remnants of Tropical Storm Chip triggered the development of a new cyclone over the Bay of Bengal. The storm tracked along the edge of a subtropical ridge, reaching its peak intensity over open waters with winds of 140 km/h (80 mph). The cyclone entered an area of higher wind shear shortly after and rapidly weakened before making landfall. Then it dissipated in Bangladesh. The final cyclone of the season developed in the Arabian Sea during mid-December. It reached its peak intensity with winds of 120 km/h (75 mph) before weakening due to strong wind shear. It made landfall in Oman on December 17 as a minimal tropical storm shortly before dissipating.
Read more about this topic: 1998 North Indian Ocean Cyclone Season
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