NASA analyzed rainfall in two tropical cyclones that developed in the Northern Indian Ocean, each bringing heavy rainfall. Within a week, separate cyclones, Tropical Storm Sagar and Cyclone Mekunu, hit Somalia and nearby Oman, respectively, and both dropped heavy rainfall in a region that is not accustomed to it.
NASA analyzed rainfall in two tropical cyclones that developed in the Northern Indian Ocean, each bringing heavy rainfall. Within a week, separate cyclones, Tropical Storm Sagar and Cyclone Mekunu, hit Somalia and nearby Oman, respectively, and both dropped heavy rainfall in a region that is not accustomed to it.
The first cyclone to strike the area, Sagar, formed from an area of thunderstorm activity located in the western Arabian Sea south of the island of Socatra. The area of low pressure associated with the thunderstorms first moved northwest into the far eastern Gulf of Aden, where it intensified into a minimal tropical storm with sustained winds estimated at 35 knots (~40 mph) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), before turning west and then southwest down the middle of the Gulf.
As it moved down the Gulf, Sagar slowly strengthened into a stronger tropical storm with sustained winds eventually reaching 55 knots (~63 mph) as it neared the far northwest coast of Somalia where it then made landfall on May 19, 2018. The storm brought strong winds, heavy rains and flooding to the area, battering coastal villages, swamping farmland and displacing thousands. The storm has been blamed for 52 deaths in Somalia, 2 in nearby Djibouti, and 1 in Yemen.
Read more at NASA / Goddard Space Flight Center
This image shows IMERG rainfall estimates from Tropical Storm Sagar and Cyclone Mekunu for the period May 16 to 28, 2018. Most of Tropical Storm Sagar's rain fell in the central Gulf of Aden. 40 to 160 mm (~1.5 to 6 inches) fell on Yemen's southeastern coast and eastern Djibouti. Up to 180 mm (~7 inches) fell on parts of western Somalia. Most of Mekunu's heaviest rainfall occurred over water and Socatra Island where IMERG estimates 400 to 500 mm (~16 to 20 inches) in whitish areas. IMERG estimates Mekunu dropped 100 to over 320 mm (~4 to 12 inches) of rain to the southeast coast of Yemen and the southwest coast of Oman, and 50 to 160 mm (~2 to 6 inches) to parts of the Eastern Province in southeast Saudi Arabia. CREDITS: NASA / JAXA, Hal Pierce
