Past Cyclones that affected Mumbai
Mumbai Cyclones are very very rare, very rarely we see cyclone making landfall as Cyclonic Storm in Kerala or Karnataka or Maharashtra. We can note down them and even memorize them. Have gone through the archives and found that two significant cyclones (1940 & 1948) that crossed near / over Mumbai. And have taken Nisarga too for comparative analysis of windspeeds.
1. 1940 Bombay Cyclone – Was the first cyclone to cross Bombay
Period October 12-16, 1940. The cyclone crossed right over Mumbai is the strongest cyclone Mumbai has faced till 1948 cyclone came. The maximum sustained winds (MSW) was 97 km/hr (60 miles/hr) while the gusts was 121 km/hr (75 miles/hr) over Colaba station. This was the 1st cyclone to cross Mumbai as a severe cyclone in recorded history. Colaba recorded 76 mm rainfall on October 16, 1940.
Maximum Sustained winds – Colaba 97 km/hr
Gusts – Colaba 121 km/hr
2. 1948 Bombay Cyclone – Strongest ever Mumbai cyclone
The 2nd cyclone Bombay saw was in 1948, just 8 years after the 1st one. It crossed 45 miles of Mumbai but the winds were felt more severe over Bombay with Juhu getting gusts of 151 km/hr and Colaba had gusts of 129 km/hr. The winds and damage were more than the 1940 Bombay Cyclone. Colaba recorded 101 mm rainfall on November 22, 1948. 47 people manning the SS Dipavathi drowned in the sea. Bombay came to standstill for 2 days. Dahanu got 257 mm rainfall while Lonvala 254 mm, Devgad 241 mm on 22.11.1948 while Matheran got 221 mm and Vade 231 mm on 23.11.1948
Maximum Sustained winds – Colaba 93 km/hr
Gusts – Colaba – 129 km/hr, Alibag – Gusts 160 km/hr and Juhu 151 km/hr
3. Cyclone Nisarga (2020) – Crossed near Alibag
After almost 50 years a Severe cyclone crossed close to Mumbai with wind speeds excess of 100 km/hr. Nisarga crossed Maharashtra coast close to Alibag as a severe cyclonic storm with a maximum sustained wind speed of 100-120 kmph gusting to 130 kmph during noon of 3rd June 2020.
Maximum Sustained winds – Colaba 92 km/hr, Alibag 102 km/hr
4. Cyclone Tauktae (2021) – Expected to cross between Veeraval and Mahua in Gujarat later tonight
Back to Back cyclones for the west coast and this time the landfall area is far from Mumbai but the cyclone eye wall went 100 km from Mumbai city.
Maximum Sustained winds – Colaba 102 km/hr (today)
The wind speed of 114 km/hr recorded today at the weather station based at Afghan Church in south Mumbai’s Colaba area, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) needs to be checked whether it is a 3 min average maximum sustained wind (MSW) or a gust.
12 hrs Rainfall in mm till 5.30 pm in Mumbai
Juhu Airport – 273
Ram Mandir – 228
Santacruz – 194
Colaba – 179
Mira Road – 163
Bandra – 110
Alibagh – 100
Note: wind speeds from monsoon rains and thunderstorms gusts are excluded as they last only few minutes. Cyclone wind speeds sustain for hours.
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