2004 South Indian cyclone season
Cyclone Gafilo 2004
Cyclone Gafilo crossed Madagascar twice in March 2004. Its broad, intense circulation caused one of the country's worst cyclone disasters, followed by a prolonged inland passage after its return from the Mozambique Channel.
Drag to pan. Pinch or Ctrl/⌘ + scroll to zoom. Keyboard: plus or minus to zoom, arrow keys to pan, and 0 to show the full track.
161 mph
Mar 6, 2004 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
A powerful approach from the Indian Ocean
Gafilo developed south of Diego Garcia at the start of March and moved west-northwest. It became a named storm on March 3 and strengthened into an intense cyclone over the following days. The archive records maximum one-minute winds of 140 kt on March 6, before its first Madagascar landfall early the next day.
A second crossing from the Mozambique Channel
After crossing Madagascar, Gafilo emerged into the Mozambique Channel. It turned back toward the island and made another landfall on March 9. The weakened circulation then spent about three days looping over land before returning to the Indian Ocean on March 13.
The storm's repeated passage contributed to extensive destruction across Madagascar. The saved account records at least 363 deaths and about US$250 million in damage in 2004 currency. Gafilo later lost its tropical structure and dissipated over the ocean on March 18.
Further reading
QUICK ANSWERS
Gafilo in brief
What was Cyclone Gafilo's highest wind speed?
161 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Mar 6, 2004, 06:00 AM UTC.
What category was Cyclone Gafilo?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Mar 6, 2004, 03:00 AM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Cyclone Gafilo's lowest pressure?
898 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Mar 6, 2004, 06:00 AM UTC.
When did Cyclone Gafilo occur?
The archived track runs from Mar 1, 2004, 06:00 AM UTC to Mar 18, 2004, 06:00 AM UTC, with the tropical stage from Mar 1, 2004, 06:00 AM UTC to Mar 14, 2004, 03:00 AM UTC.
Where did Cyclone Gafilo form?
In the South Indian basin, in the 2004 season. Its first archived position is 11.6°S, 72.2°E on Mar 1, 2004, 06:00 AM UTC.
Did Cyclone Gafilo make landfall?
The archive places its center over land at 2 recorded positions; the strongest is 142 mph on Mar 7, 2004, 03:00 AM UTC. Positions are six-hourly, so this is not a landfall chronology.
METHODOLOGY
Data sources and limitations
The map and summary are generated from NOAA's IBTrACS v04r01 archive. Wind and category use US-agency records; minimum pressure is calculated during the tropical stage, with the archive's pressure source retained. Category 5 refers to the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale; local agencies may use different classifications. Coastlines use Natural Earth's 1:10m land data.
Track distance adds great-circle distances between consecutive observations, excluding gaps over 12 hours. This track has no gaps over 12 hours. The line shows the storm's center, not its size, rainfall or flood extent. Converted wind speeds are rounded to the nearest whole unit.
Archive retrieved
NOAA IBTrACS archive and Field documentation
Sources & methodology