South-Western Indian Ocean
| Southwest Indian Ocean Tropical Cyclone Intensity Scale |
|
|---|---|
| Category | Sustained winds |
| Very Intense Tropical Cyclone |
>115 kt >212 km/h |
| Intense Tropical Cyclone |
90–115 kt 166–212 km/h |
| Tropical Cyclone |
64–89 kt 118–165 km/h |
| Severe Tropical Storm |
48–63 kt 89–117 km/h |
| Moderate Tropical Storm |
34–47 kt 63–88 km/h |
| Tropical Depression |
28–33 kt 51–62 km/h |
| Tropical Disturbance |
<28 kt <50 km/h |
Any tropical cyclone that forms within the Southern Indian Ocean to the west of 90°E is monitored by Météo-France who run the Regional Specialized Meteorological Center in La Reunion. RSMC La Reunion uses seven different categories to measure the wind speed of a tropical cyclone. It is based on a 10-minute average maximum sustained winds, rather than 1-minute maximum sustained winds, which is what the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale uses.
A tropical disturbance is the lowest category on the South-west Indian Ocean Tropical Cyclone scale, and has wind speeds of 28 knots (50 km/h, 32 mph). A tropical disturbance is designated as a tropical depression when the disturbance reaches wind speeds above 28 knots (32 mph, 50 km/h). Should a tropical depression reach wind speeds of 35 knots (65 km/h, 40 mph) then it will be classified as a moderate tropical storm and assigned a name by either the Sub Regional Center in Mauritius or Madagascar.
Should the named storm intensify further and reach winds speeds of 48 knots (89 km/h, 55 mph), then it will be classified as a severe tropical storm. A severe tropical storm is designated as a tropical cyclone when it reaches wind speeds of 64 knots (118 km/h, 74 mph). Should a tropical cyclone intensify further and reach wind speeds of 90 knots (166 km/h, 103 mph), it will be classified as an intense tropical cyclone. A very intense tropical cyclone is the highest category on the South-West Indian Ocean Tropical Cyclone scale, and has winds of over 115 knots (212 km/h, 132 mph).
Read more about this topic: Tropical Cyclone Scales
Famous quotes containing the words indian and/or ocean:
“As I went forth early on a still and frosty morning, the trees looked like airy creatures of darkness caught napping; on this side huddled together, with their gray hairs streaming, in a secluded valley which the sun had not penetrated; on that, hurrying off in Indian file along some watercourse, while the shrubs and grasses, like elves and fairies of the night, sought to hide their diminished heads in the snow.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Who heeds the waste abyss of possibility? The ocean is everywhere the same, but it has no character until seen with the shore or the ship.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)