Cyclone Gafilo (2004)
Cyclone Gafilo reached Category 5 in the South Indian between March 1, 2004 and March 18, 2004, with a lowest pressure of 898 mb, and made landfall.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Cyclone Gafilo, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 2004 season in the same basin behind it, and its wind and pressure hour by hour. Every fix is in the track table below.
The storm
- Basin
- South Indian
- Dates
- March 1, 2004 to March 18, 2004
- Peak strength
- Category 5, 140 kt (161 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 898 mb (26.52 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 23.7
- Tropical-storm-force wind reached
- 250 nmi (463 km, 288 mi) from the center at its widest
- Eyewall radius at its peak
- 10 nmi (19 km, 12 mi)
- Overall size
- 220 nmi (407 km, 253 mi) to the outermost closed isobar
- Fastest the center moved
- 22 kt (25 mph)
- Identifier
- SH162004
Deaths and damage
No source this site reads carries a casualty or damage figure for this storm.
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 1, 06:00 | 11.6S 72.2E | 20 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical depression |
| Mar 1, 12:00 | 11.6S 71.8E | 20 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical depression |
| Mar 1, 18:00 | 11.7S 71.3E | 20 kt | 1004 mb | Tropical depression |
| Mar 2, 00:00 | 12.2S 70.9E | 25 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical depression |
| Mar 2, 06:00 | 13.1S 70.6E | 25 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical depression |
| Mar 2, 12:00 | 13.8S 69.8E | 30 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical depression |
| Mar 2, 18:00 | 14.1S 68.2E | 30 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical depression |
| Mar 3, 00:00 | 13.9S 66.2E | 35 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 3, 06:00 | 13.4S 64.0E | 45 kt | 991 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 3, 12:00 | 13.1S 62.4E | 55 kt | 984 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 3, 18:00 | 12.7S 61.1E | 65 kt | 976 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 4, 00:00 | 12.3S 60.1E | 65 kt | 976 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 4, 06:00 | 12.2S 59.4E | 65 kt | 976 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 4, 12:00 | 12.5S 58.7E | 75 kt | 967 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 4, 18:00 | 12.9S 58.0E | 75 kt | 967 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 5, 00:00 | 13.2S 57.4E | 75 kt | 967 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 5, 06:00 | 13.5S 56.7E | 90 kt | 954 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 5, 12:00 | 13.9S 56.0E | 125 kt | 916 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 5, 18:00 | 14.2S 55.2E | 125 kt | 916 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 6, 00:00 | 14.5S 54.3E | 135 kt | 904 mb | Super typhoon |
| Mar 6, 06:00 | 14.7S 53.5E | 140 kt | 898 mb | Super typhoon |
| Mar 6, 12:00 | 14.9S 52.6E | 140 kt | 898 mb | Super typhoon |
| Mar 6, 18:00 | 15.0S 51.6E | 140 kt | 898 mb | Super typhoon |
| Mar 7, 00:00 | 15.0S 50.5E | 130 kt | 910 mb | Super typhoon |
| Mar 7, 06:00 | 15.1S 49.2E | 115 kt | 927 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 7, 12:00 | 15.7S 47.9E | 90 kt | 954 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 7, 18:00 | 16.3S 46.6E | 75 kt | 967 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 8, 00:00 | 17.0S 45.3E | 65 kt | 976 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 8, 06:00 | 17.8S 44.1E | 65 kt | 976 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 8, 12:00 | 18.4S 43.3E | 65 kt | 976 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 8, 18:00 | 18.8S 42.8E | 65 kt | 976 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 9, 00:00 | 19.2S 42.5E | 65 kt | 976 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 9, 06:00 | 19.6S 42.2E | 65 kt | 976 mb | Typhoon |
| Mar 9, 12:00 | 20.3S 42.6E | 60 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 9, 18:00 | 20.9S 43.2E | 60 kt | 980 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 10, 00:00 | 21.7S 44.0E | 55 kt | 984 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 10, 06:00 | 22.4S 45.0E | 45 kt | 991 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 10, 12:00 | 23.1S 45.3E | 40 kt | 994 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 10, 18:00 | 23.4S 45.8E | 40 kt | 994 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 11, 00:00 | 23.7S 46.3E | 30 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical depression |
| Mar 11, 06:00 | 24.1S 46.5E | 30 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical depression |
| Mar 11, 12:00 | 24.3S 46.7E | 30 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical depression |
| Mar 11, 18:00 | 22.5S 45.1E | 27 kt | 993 mb | Not reported |
| Mar 12, 00:00 | 22.1S 45.3E | 25 kt | 994 mb | Not reported |
| Mar 12, 06:00 | 21.8S 45.7E | 25 kt | 995 mb | Not reported |
| Mar 12, 12:00 | 22.2S 46.6E | 25 kt | 996 mb | Not reported |
| Mar 12, 18:00 | 22.5S 47.3E | 25 kt | 998 mb | Not reported |
| Mar 13, 00:00 | 22.8S 47.7E | 25 kt | 1000 mb | Not reported |
| Mar 13, 06:00 | 23.1S 48.2E | 20 kt | 1001 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 13, 12:00 | 23.6S 49.2E | 20 kt | 1001 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 13, 18:00 | 24.2S 51.1E | 20 kt | 1001 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 14, 00:00 | 24.9S 53.1E | 25 kt | 1000 mb | Tropical storm |
| Mar 14, 06:00 | 25.6S 55.0E | 30 kt | 999 mb | Subtropical storm |
| Mar 14, 12:00 | 26.4S 56.8E | 30 kt | 999 mb | Subtropical storm |
| Mar 14, 18:00 | 27.1S 58.3E | 35 kt | 998 mb | Subtropical storm |
| Mar 15, 00:00 | 27.9S 60.6E | 35 kt | 998 mb | Subtropical storm |
| Mar 15, 06:00 | 28.1S 62.4E | 30 kt | 1000 mb | Subtropical storm |
| Mar 15, 12:00 | 27.9S 63.9E | 30 kt | 1000 mb | Subtropical storm |
| Mar 15, 18:00 | 27.6S 66.1E | 30 kt | 1002 mb | Extratropical |
| Mar 16, 00:00 | 27.2S 67.9E | 30 kt | 1004 mb | Extratropical |
| Mar 16, 06:00 | 26.9S 69.3E | 25 kt | 1006 mb | Extratropical |
| Mar 16, 12:00 | 26.2S 69.3E | 25 kt | 1006 mb | Extratropical |
| Mar 16, 18:00 | 25.8S 68.7E | 25 kt | 1007 mb | Extratropical |
| Mar 17, 00:00 | 25.6S 67.7E | 25 kt | 1007 mb | Extratropical |
| Mar 17, 06:00 | 25.4S 66.4E | 25 kt | 1008 mb | Extratropical |
| Mar 17, 12:00 | 25.1S 64.9E | 25 kt | 1008 mb | Extratropical |
| Mar 17, 18:00 | 25.0S 63.3E | 20 kt | 1010 mb | Disturbance |
| Mar 18, 00:00 | 24.8S 61.6E | 20 kt | 1010 mb | Disturbance |
| Mar 18, 06:00 | 24.7S 60.1E | 20 kt | 1012 mb | Disturbance |
Other South Indian storms of 2004
- Tropical Storm AbaimbaSouth Indian · 2004
- Cyclone BeniSouth Indian · 2004
- Cyclone CelaSouth Indian · 2004
- Cyclone JanaSouth Indian · 2004
- Tropical Storm DariusSouth Indian · 2004
- Tropical Storm KenSouth Indian · 2004
- Cyclone ElitaSouth Indian · 2004
- Cyclone FrankSouth Indian · 2004
- Tropical Storm LindaSouth Indian · 2004
- Cyclone MontySouth Indian · 2004
- Cyclone Helma:NickySouth Indian · 2004
- Cyclone Itsang:Itseng:OscarSouth Indian · 2004
- Unnamed tropical depressionSouth Indian · 2004
- Cyclone JubaSouth Indian · 2004
What this means
A best track is the record a warning agency settles on after the storm, not what it said at the time: position, maximum sustained wind and central pressure every six hours, revised against every observation that came in later. Category is the Saffir-Simpson scale, which runs from Category 1 at 64 kt to Category 5 at 137 kt and reads wind only, so it says nothing about surge or rain. Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the square of the wind through the storm's life, so it counts strength and duration together.
Sources
Storm history from NOAA NCEI’s International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS), which merges the official best track of every warning agency. Live storms, cones, watches and warnings from the National Hurricane Center and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Archived radar from NOAA’s Level II archive.