NASA MODIS Image of the Day: January 2, 2012 – Tropical Cyclone Thane
Tropical Storm Thane formed over the Indian Ocean on December 25, 2011.
By December 28, Thane had strengthened into a cyclone and was headed toward southern India.
On December 28, the U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) reported that Thane was located roughly 270 nautical miles (500 kilometers) southeast of Chennai. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 65 knots (120 kilometers per hour) with gusts up to 80 knots (150 kilometers per hour). The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this natural-color image on December 28, 2011. Thane lacks a distinct eye but still sports the spiral shape characteristic of strong storms. Skies are clear over Chennai but storm clouds extend over other parts of the Indian coast. After this image was captured, Tropical Storm Thane strengthened to a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm and peaked on December 29 with 1-minute sustained wind speeds measured at 150 kilometers per hour (90 miles per hour). It weakened slightly before making landfall during December 30 on the north Tamil Nadu coast. After making landfall, it weakened quickly and the JTWC issued their final advisory on December 30. The storm left at least 46 dead in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, with the city of Cuddalore the most severely impacted location. In addition, 700 fishermen were reported as stranded near the Nizampatnam Bay area due to rough sea conditions. Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Thane was the strongest tropical cyclone of 2011 within the North Indian Ocean.
