 Cyclone Phethai north of Sri Lanka on December 15 | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | December 13, 2018 |
| Dissipated | December 17, 2018 |
| Severe cyclonic storm | |
| 3-minute sustained (IMD) | |
| Highest winds | 100 km/h (65 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 992 hPa (mbar); 29.29 inHg |
| Tropical storm | |
| 1-minute sustained (SSHWS/JTWC) | |
| Highest winds | 100 km/h (65 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 989 hPa (mbar); 29.21 inHg |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 8 total |
| Damage | $100 million (2018 USD) |
| Areas affected | Sri Lanka, East India, Northeast India |
| IBTrACS | |
Part of the 2018 North Indian Ocean cyclone season | |
Severe Cyclonic Storm Phethai was a tropical cyclone which affected some portions of Sri Lanka and India during December 2018. The fourteenth depression, ninth deep depression, seventh cyclonic storm, and fifth severe cyclonic storm of the 2018 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Phethai developed from an area of low pressure that formed over the Bay of Bengal on December 13. Having forecasted not to develop significantly, the depression then strengthened to a deep depression later that day before becoming a cyclonic storm on December 15. Phethai further intensified and peaked to a severe cyclonic storm, the following day. The system then steadily weakened due to land interaction and increasing wind shear, before making landfall as a disorganized system over Andhra Pradesh on December 17. It degenerated to an area of low-pressure inland later that day.
Phethai caused over eight fatalities during its path towards East India. Some rice crops and paddies were destroyed and flooded, while over 31,600 individuals were evacuated to different centers in Godavari District and Odisha. The total damages from the cyclone were finalized at $100 million (2018 USD).