NOAA-20 VIIRS imaged Cyclone Arnab with 140km/h winds
The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) aboard NOAA-20 captured a striking nighttime image of Cyclone Arnab swirling over the Bay of Bengal one day before the landfall.
Taken at 1:42am on October 27, the photo shows the storm packing winds of 140km/h as it closed in on Andhra Pradesh.
By October 28, Arnab made landfall between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam with slightly lower wind speeds.
Cyclone Arnab damages Andhra Pradesh, Odisha
Classified by IMD as a very severe cyclonic storm, on par with a Category 1 hurricane, Arnab caused major damage in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.
Trees were uprooted, homes and fields flooded, and power outages left many in the dark. Over 10,000 people were evacuated from vulnerable areas.
Interestingly, this cyclone formed during El Nino, a period when storms like this are pretty rare for the region.