1978–79 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season

Seasonal summary

ImageSize = width:900 height:190 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:20 left:20 Legend = columns:3 left:30 top:58 columnwidth:280 AlignBars = early DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/12/1978 till:30/04/1979 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMinor = grid:black unit:month increment:1 start:01/12/1978 Colors = id:canvas value:gray(0.88) id:GP value:red id:ZD value:rgb(0,0.52,0.84) legend:Zone_of_Disturbed_Weather_=≤31_mph(≤50_km/h) id:TD value:rgb(0.43,0.76,0.92) legend:(Sub)Tropical_Depression_=32–38_mph(51–62_km/h) id:TS value:rgb(0.30,1,1) legend:Moderate_Tropical_Storm_=39–54_mph(63–88_km/h) id:ST value:rgb(0.75,1,0.75) legend:Severe_Tropical_Storm_=55–73_mph(89–118_km/h) id:TC value:rgb(1,0.85,0.55) legend:Tropical_Cyclone_=74–103_mph(119–166_km/h) id:IT value:rgb(1,0.45,0.54) legend:Intense_Tropical_Cyclone_=104–133_mph(167–214_km/h) id:VI value:rgb(0.55,0.46,0.9) legend:Very_Intense_Tropical_Cyclone_=≥134_mph(≥215_km/h)

Backgroundcolors = canvas:canvas

BarData = barset:Hurricane bar:Month

PlotData= barset:Hurricane width:11 align:left fontsize:S shift:(4,-4) anchor:till from:13/12/1978 till:29/12/1978 color:TC text:"Angele (TC)" from:24/12/1978 till:26/12/1978 color:TS text:"03S (MTS)" from:03/01/1979 till:14/01/1979 color:TC text:"Benjamine (TC)" from:31/01/1979 till:12/02/1979 color:IT text:"Celine (ITC)" from:04/02/1979 till:12/02/1979 color:TD text:"Dora (TD)" barset:break from:10/02/1979 till:18/02/1979 color:TS text:"Estelle (MTS)" from:14/02/1979 till:16/02/1979 color:TD text:"Fatou (TD)" from:08/03/1979 till:14/03/1979 color:TD text:"Gelie (TD)" from:26/03/1979 till:28/03/1979 color:TD text:"Helios (TD)" from:04/04/1979 till:13/04/1979 color:IT text:"Idylle (ITC)"

bar:Month width:5 align:center fontsize:S shift:(0,-20) anchor:middle color:canvas from:01/12/1978 till:31/12/1978 text:December from:01/01/1979 till:31/01/1979 text:January from:01/02/1979 till:28/02/1979 text:February from:01/03/1979 till:31/03/1979 text:March from:01/04/1979 till:30/04/1979 text:April TextData = pos:(620,23) text:"(For further details, please see" pos:(764,23) text:"scales)"

Systems

Tropical Cyclone Angele

|10-min winds=82 |1-min winds=110 Angele form on December 13, while stationed in the middle of the Mozambique Channel. It traveled north and gradually organized into a tropical storm while performing a tight counter-clockwise loop. On December 18 Angele intensified into a tropical cyclone before making landfall on Mozambique. Angele weakened to a tropical storm while over land, but re-intensified back to a tropical cyclone as it re-emerged into the Mozambique channel. The cyclone moved south and quite abruptly, on December 23, moved to the northeast. On December 24 Angele reached a peak intensity as a category three cyclone. The system weakened slightly before making landfall on Madagascar two days later. The weak storm moved over the open Indian Ocean and translated into an extra-tropical storm.

Angele is responsible for four deaths and 2,500 people homeless in Mozambique. In Madagascar 70 people were killed by the storm's passage.

Cyclone 03S

|1-min winds=55 03S entered the basin on December 24 and lasted until December 26.

Tropical Cyclone Benjamine

|10-min winds=82 |1-min winds=110 Benjamine existed from January 3 to January 14. On January 7, the cyclone passed between Réunion and Mauritius. On the former island, the storm dropped heavy rainfall, reaching 665 mm at Gite de Bellecombe, along with 126 km/h wind gusts at St. Denis. The storm damaged or destroyed 194 houses, while also damaging crops and power lines.

Intense Tropical Cyclone Celine

|10-min winds=92 |1-min winds=125 Celine existed from January 31 to February 12. Celine looped near Mauritius while intensifying, and later passed just north of Rodrigues. Wind gusts on the latter island reached 216 km/h. The storm killed about half of the population of the critically endangered Rodrigues flying fox.

Tropical Depression Dora

|10-min winds=28 |1-min winds=45 Dora existed from February 4 to February 12.

Moderate Tropical Storm Estelle

|10-min winds=36 |1-min winds=55 Estelle existed from February 10 to February 18. For several days, Estelle moved around the Mascarene Islands, with a peak rainfall total on Réunion of 544 mm recorded at Petite Plaine.

Tropical Depression Fatou

|10-min winds=28 |1-min winds=45 Fatou existed from February 14 to February 16.

Tropical Depression Gelie

|10-min winds=28 |1-min winds=45 Gelie existed from March 8 to March 14.

Tropical Depression Helios

|10-min winds=28 |1-min winds=40 Helios existed from March 26 to March 28.

Intense Tropical Cyclone Idylle

|10-min winds=95 |1-min winds=105 Idylle developed on April 4 and left the basin on April 13.

References

References

1. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. (2013). "Historical event review". Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
2. (1996). ["Tropical Cyclone Benjamine, 3-14 January, 1979"]({{GTECCA url). National Climatic Data Center.
3. (1996). ["Hurricane Celine, 31 January-12 February"]({{GTECCA url). National Climatic Data Center.
4. J. Bryan Carroll. (January 1988). "Population management of the Rodrigues fruit bat". Conservation Science and Zoos.
5. (1996). ["Tropical Storm Estelle, 11-18 February"]({{GTECCA url). National Climatic Data Center.