Super Cyclone 'Mocha' will go on record to be the most powerful tropical storm in the Indian seas since the year 2000. Though the weather agency kept the intensity limited to 'Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm', Joint Typhoon Warning Centre at Hawaii ( US-PACAF) upgraded the storm equivalent to a Cat-V hurricane for a few hours between the 13th May late night and 14th May morning. The purple colour track in the picture relates to the Super Cyclone duration, over the open sea well before the landfall.
Cyclone Mocha was the monster of a storm and had all the ingredients of intensification to the topmost category. The cyclone had a robust structure for a long duration with a sharp and symmetrical 'eye', display of its strength. The heat potential remained constantly high with ocean surface temperature hovering 31-32 degrees, the highest anywhere around the globe at this time. Vertical wind shear was the least for fairly long and never exceeded 15kts, throughout its travel. The storm field sailed under optimal conditions accelerating the power of a storm. Intensification of the storm was nearly 'explosive' adding 60km wind speed in less than 12 hours.
The super cyclone also underwent ERC (Eyewall Replacement Cycle), a rather rare feature and mostly confined to severe typhoons. The cyclone had typical copybook features and possibly can not get manifested better than this, in the satellite imageries.
Apparently, cyclone Mocha is the 3rd Super Cyclone on record in the Indian seas since the year 2000. Before this, super cyclone Amphan struck West Bengal (Bakkhali) on 20th May 2020 with a peak wind speed of 240km/hr. Another super cyclone 'Gonu' developed over the Arabian Sea and made landfall over Oman in June 2007 capturing the highest wind speed of 240km/hr. The strongest cyclone in the Indian seas so far, in recent history was the 'Odisha Super Cyclone" ( Oct 25-Nov 03, 1999) achieving a peak wind speed of 260km/hr.
Cat-V hurricane has a wind field of >/= 252km/hr. Even a Cat-IV hurricane having wind speed in the range of 209-251 km/hr can be rated as a 'Super Cyclone' when the wind speed breach 222km/hr. Super Cyclone Mocha which crashed into the Myanmar coast on Sunday, 14th May 2023 at a peak intensity of 260 kmph becomes the strongest storm of this century in the Indian seas and equals a terrific record of 'Odisha Cyclone', way back in 1999.
