Cyclone Mocha slams Myanmar with peak winds of 175 mph - Earth.com

Cyclone Mocha slams Myanmar with peak winds of 175 mph

Today’s Image of the Day from NASA Earth Observatory features Cyclone Mocha as it approached Myanmar on May 14, 2023. According to NASA. the storm carried winds of up to 175 miles per hour, which is classified as a category 5 storm. 

According to media outlets, Mocha is now tied with Cyclone Fani (May 2019) as the strongest tropical cyclone ever recorded in the North Indian Ocean

“Although the storm weakened slightly during the final hours of its approach, Mocha still brought dangerous winds, downpours, and storm surge when it made landfall just north of Sittwe, Myanmar,” said NASA. 

“The storm underwent a period of rapid intensification on May 14 as it encountered warm water in the Bay of Bengal and little vertical wind shear – factors that can strengthen tropical cyclones.”

“At their peak, Mocha’s powerful winds tied with Cyclone Fani for being the strongest on record in the North Indian Ocean basin, according to Jeff Masters with Yale Climate Connections.”

The image was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite.

Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory 

By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Editor

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