The 1976 North Indian Ocean cyclone season was part of the annual cycle of

tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

formation. The season has no official bounds but cyclones tend to form between April and December. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northern

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

. There are two main seas in the North Indian Ocean—the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...

to the east of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

and the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

to the west of India. The official

Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre A Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC) is responsible for the distribution of information, advisories, and warnings regarding the specific program they have a part of, agreed by consensus at the World Meteorological Organization as ...

in this basin is the India Meteorological Department (IMD), while the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) releases unofficial advisories. An average of five tropical cyclones form in the North Indian Ocean every season with peaks in May and November. Cyclones occurring between the meridians 45°E and 100°E are included in the season by the IMD.

Systems

Tropical Storm One (01B)

Cyclone Two (02A)

This cyclone was formed on 31 May and gradually intensified to a severe cyclone. On 3 June, the storm made landfall over

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

and rapidly weakened thereafter. Offshore the ship Haakon Magnus reported gust winds as high as 165 kmph. 70 people and 4500 cattle were killed due to the storm with 25,000 houses damaged. Damages were estimated to be .

Tropical Storm Six (06B)

The depression formed over

Orissa Odisha (), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is a state located in Eastern India. It is the eighth-largest state by area, and the eleventh-largest by population, with over 41 million inhabitants. The state also has the thir ...

on 27 August and moved in west-northwest direction across the plains of India from

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (; ) is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in Central India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the List ...

, East

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

and North

. It later intensified into a cyclonic storm near Gujarat coast on 31 August. Then it moved into the

and made a loop. It dissipated over the northwest Arabian Sea near the coast of

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

on 8 September.

Tropical Storm Seven (07B)

This system formed on 6 September and rapidly intensified into a very severe cyclonic storm the next day. The storm then made landfall at

Contai Contai is a coastal and subdivisional city and a municipality in East Medinipur district, West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Contai subdivision. Etymology In the 5th century, during the visit of Faxian, Fa-Hien, Contai was uninh ...

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

on September 11. Its remnants tracked until

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

and dissipated on 16 September. The storm killed 40 people and 4,000 cattle. Up to 1.25 lakh hectares crops were damaged in India. In Contai, wind speed attained speeds as high as 155 kph at the time of landfall.

Tropical Storm Eight (08A)

Tropical Storm Nine (09B)

Cyclone Ten (10B)

This cyclone was formed on 1 November and gradually peaked to a severe cyclonic storm or Category-1 equivalent cyclone. This cyclone made landfall on 4 November close to the city of

Machilipatnam Machilipatnam (), also known as Masulipatnam and Bandar (), is a city in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipal corporation and the administrative headquarters of Krishna district. It is also the Tehsil, mandal ...

. It weakened slowly and its remnants reached into the

on 6 November, where it couldn't able to regenerate due to unfavourable conditions and dissipated by the same night. 25 people were killed due to the storm and 13 fishermen remain missing.

Cyclone Twelve (12B)

This cyclone was formed on 15 November. Despite remaining just offshore

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

, the storm rapidly intensified into a severe cyclone and reached hurricane intensity. By the next day, the storm made landfall between

Nellore Nellore, also spelt as Nelluru, is a city located on the banks of Penna River, in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh, India.Kavali Kavali is a town in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh of India. It also serves as headquarters of Kavali mandal and Kavali revenue division.It is one of the few cities from Andhra Pradesh which were selected for Atal Mission for Rejuvenation a ...

in its peak intensity and dissipated over

Rayalaseema Rayalaseema (IAST: ''Rāyalasīma'') is a geographic region in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It comprises four southern districts of the State, from prior to the districts reorganisation in 2022, namely Kurnool, Anantapur, Kadapa, and ...

on 17 November. 30 people were reported to be killed due to the storm along with 10,000 houses damaged. Damages in Indian Rupees were estimated to be 3.9 crores.

Nellore District Nellore district, officially known as Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore district in Coastal Andhra Region, is one of the 26 districts in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. According to the 2011 Census, the district's population was 2,963,557 of which ...

was the worst affected due to the storm.

Tropical Storm Thirteen (13B)

Cyclone Fourteen (14B)

References

External links

India Meteorological DepartmentJoint Typhoon Warning Center
{{TC Decades, Year=1970, basin=North Indian Ocean, type=cyclone