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The 2002 Oman cyclone (JTWC designation: ''01A'', officially known as ''Cyclonic Storm ARB 01'') was a
tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Dep ...
that struck the
Dhofar The Dhofar Governorate ( ar, مُحَافَظَة ظُفَار, Muḥāfaẓat Ẓufār) is the largest of the 11 Governorates in the Sultanate of Oman in terms of area. It lies in Southern Oman, on the eastern border with Yemen's Al Mahrah ...
region of
Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...
in May 2002. The first storm of the
2002 North Indian Ocean cyclone season The 2002 North Indian Ocean cyclone season was a below average season in terms of tropical cyclone formation. The season had no official bounds, but most storms formed in either May or after October. No depressions or storms formed during the m ...
, it developed on May 6 in the
Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...
, and it maintained a general west-northwest track for much of its duration. The system reached cyclonic storm status on May 9, meaning it attained winds of greater than , and on May 10 it made
landfall Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...
near
Salalah Salalah ( ar, صَلَالَة, Ṣalālah) is the capital and largest city of the southern Omani governorate of Dhofar. Its population in 2009 was about 197,169. Salalah is the third-largest city in the Sultanate of Oman, and the largest cit ...
; shortly thereafter it dissipated. The storm was rare, in the sense that it was one of only twelve tropical cyclones on record to approach the Arabian Peninsula in the month of May. The storm brought the heaviest number of people to Dhofar in 30 years, causing flooding and creating rivers in
wadi Wadi ( ar, وَادِي, wādī), alternatively ''wād'' ( ar, وَاد), North African Arabic Oued, is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some instances, it may refer to a wet ( ephemeral) riverbed that contains water on ...
s, or typically dry riverbeds. Several people drowned after their vehicles were swept away by the flooding. The storm caused locally heavy damage, totaling $25 million (2002 
USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
).


Meteorological history

An area of
convection Convection is single or multiphase fluid flow that occurs spontaneously due to the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoyancy). When the cause of the c ...
developed on May 2, 2002 near
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, associated with a weak and broad circulation center. The system tracked west-northwestward through the
Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...
along a
trough Trough may refer to: In science * Trough (geology), a long depression less steep than a trench * Trough (meteorology), an elongated region of low atmospheric pressure * Trough (physics), the lowest point on a wave * Trough level (medicine), th ...
near the equator. Its thunderstorm activity was enhanced by a
ridge A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...
to its north, though was also removed from the center. By May 5, the circulation had become better defined, and concurrently the convection increased over the center. After further organization, the
India Meteorological Department The India Meteorological Department (IMD) is an agency of the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Government of India. It is the principal agency responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasting and seismology. IMD is headquart ...
(IMD) classified the system as Depression ARB01A on May 6. Around the same time, the
Joint Typhoon Warning Center The Joint typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force command in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The JTWC is responsible for the issuing of tropical cyclone warnings in the North-West Pacific Ocean, South P ...
(JTWC) classified it as Tropical Depression 01A, while located about 1300 km (800 mi) southeast of
Salalah Salalah ( ar, صَلَالَة, Ṣalālah) is the capital and largest city of the southern Omani governorate of Dhofar. Its population in 2009 was about 197,169. Salalah is the third-largest city in the Sultanate of Oman, and the largest cit ...
,
Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...
. After becoming a tropical cyclone, the depression turned to a northwest motion before resuming a track to the west-northwest. On May 7 it intensified into a deep depression, and though its winds had increased, the structure became disorganized as the center became exposed from the thunderstorm activity. The convection waned, due to the influence of dry air from the Arabian Peninsula, as well as from
wind shear Wind shear (or windshear), sometimes referred to as wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere. Atmospheric wind shear is normally described as either vertical or horizon ...
. As a result, the IMD downgraded it to depression status early on May 8. However, later in the day, convection redeveloped over the western half of the circulation, and it again reached deep depression status, about 830 km (515 mi) southeast of Oman. The storm maintained poleward
outflow Outflow may refer to: * Capital outflow, the capital leaving a particular economy * Bipolar outflow, in astronomy, two continuous flows of gas from the poles of a star * Outflow (hydrology), the discharge of a lake or other reservoir system *Outflo ...
as it continued west-northwestward. Early on May 9 the IMD upgraded the system to a
cyclonic storm In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an ant ...
, estimating winds of and a pressure of . Around that time, the storm was estimated by the JTWC to have attained peak winds of 85 km/h (50 km/h), with an
atmospheric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1013.25 millibar ...
of 991 
mbar The bar is a metric unit of pressure, but not part of the International System of Units (SI). It is defined as exactly equal to 100,000  Pa (100 kPa), or slightly less than the current average atmospheric pressure on Earth at sea le ...
. While located a short distance offshore, the storm turned to the northwest and weakened slightly. At about 0900  UTC on May 10, the storm made
landfall Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...
near Salalah, Oman. Shortly thereafter, it began
dissipation In thermodynamics, dissipation is the result of an irreversible process that takes place in homogeneous thermodynamic systems. In a dissipative process, energy (internal, bulk flow kinetic, or system potential) transforms from an initial form ...
over Oman. Its landfall in the
Dhofar The Dhofar Governorate ( ar, مُحَافَظَة ظُفَار, Muḥāfaẓat Ẓufār) is the largest of the 11 Governorates in the Sultanate of Oman in terms of area. It lies in Southern Oman, on the eastern border with Yemen's Al Mahrah ...
region of Oman was uncommon; in the period from 1891 to 1990, only 17 tropical depressions or storms struck the region.


Impact

Along the coastline, the arrival of the storm resulted in strong waves of up to 4 metres (13 ft). The storm dropped heavy rainfall in the vicinity of its landfall, which were the greatest totals in 30 years in the
Dhofar The Dhofar Governorate ( ar, مُحَافَظَة ظُفَار, Muḥāfaẓat Ẓufār) is the largest of the 11 Governorates in the Sultanate of Oman in terms of area. It lies in Southern Oman, on the eastern border with Yemen's Al Mahrah ...
region. The city of Salalah reported 58 mm (2.28 in) in a 24‑hour period as the storm moved ashore, which was more than 300% of its average monthly for May. As a result, some flooding was reported in the city, and several
wadi Wadi ( ar, وَادِي, wādī), alternatively ''wād'' ( ar, وَاد), North African Arabic Oued, is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some instances, it may refer to a wet ( ephemeral) riverbed that contains water on ...
s, or typically dry riverbeds, became sudden rivers in the area; one station recorded a discharge of 1146 m3/s (40,470 ft3/s). In Qairoon, precipitation amounted to 251 mm (9.88 in), which was the highest total in Oman. Severe thunderstorms were reported during its passage, with wind gusts peaking at 106 km/h (66 mph). In neighboring
Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast an ...
, the city of
Al Ghaydah Al Ghaydah ( ar, الغيضة) is the capital city of Al Mahrah Governorate in south-eastern Yemen. Transport The city is served by Al Ghaydah Airport. Climate Al Ghaydah has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification The Köppen c ...
reported light winds of about . Damage was severe and widespread, estimated at $25 million (2002 
USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
). Storm impact included property, crop, transportation, and agricultural damage, with hundreds of cattle drowning during the passage of the storm. Across the
Dhofar The Dhofar Governorate ( ar, مُحَافَظَة ظُفَار, Muḥāfaẓat Ẓufār) is the largest of the 11 Governorates in the Sultanate of Oman in terms of area. It lies in Southern Oman, on the eastern border with Yemen's Al Mahrah ...
region of Oman, the storm caused several injuries and a total of nine fatalities; most of the deaths were drownings, occurring when their vehicles were swept away by flooding in typically dry areas. Two army soldiers and one police officer drowned while saving other people in danger. In the aftermath of the storm, the Omani government received 4,000 requests for assistance, and in turn provided financial aid to 500 families; additionally, the government supplied temporary housing for displaced people.


See also

*
List of Arabian Peninsula tropical cyclones The Arabian Peninsula is a peninsula between the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the Persian Gulf. There are 64 known tropical cyclones that affected the peninsula, primarily Yemen and Oman. For convenience, storms are included that affected t ...
*
1996 Oman cyclone The 1996 Oman cyclone (also known as Cyclone 02A) was a tenacious and deadly system that caused historic flooding in the southern Arabian Peninsula. It originated from a disturbance in the Gulf of Aden, the first such tropical cyclogenesis on r ...


References


External links


Cyclones and depressions over north Indian Ocean during 2002
– report by
India Meteorological Department The India Meteorological Department (IMD) is an agency of the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Government of India. It is the principal agency responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasting and seismology. IMD is headquart ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:2002 Oman cyclone Tropical cyclones in Oman
Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...
Cyclonic storms Tropical cyclones in 2002