2007 North Indian cyclone season
Cyclone Gonu 2007
Gonu crossed the Arabian Sea at exceptional strength before turning through the Gulf of Oman. Its winds weakened before landfall, but torrential rain caused destructive flooding in Oman and Iran.
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.
167 mph
Jun 4, 2007 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
Strengthening across the Arabian Sea
Gonu developed in the eastern Arabian Sea at the start of June. Warm water and favorable winds aloft supported rapid strengthening as it moved toward the Arabian Peninsula. The archive records peak sustained winds of 145 knots on June 4, placing Gonu at Category 5 strength on the wind scale used here.
Dry air and cooler water weakened the cyclone on its approach to Oman. It reached the country's easternmost coast on June 6, then turned north across the Gulf of Oman toward southern Iran, where it made landfall on June 7.
Flooding on both sides of the gulf
Rainfall reached about 610 millimeters in Oman. Floodwaters damaged coastal communities and infrastructure, making the storm a national disaster despite its weakening winds. The saved account reports 50 deaths and approximately US$4.2 billion in damage in Oman, with a further 28 deaths and US$216 million in damage in Iran. Both damage estimates are in 2007 dollars.
Further reading
QUICK ANSWERS
Gonu in brief
What was Cyclone Gonu's highest wind speed?
167 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Jun 4, 2007, 12:00 PM UTC.
What category was Cyclone Gonu?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Jun 4, 2007, 09:00 AM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Cyclone Gonu's lowest pressure?
898 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Jun 4, 2007, 06:00 PM UTC.
When did Cyclone Gonu occur?
The archived track runs from May 31, 2007, 06:00 AM UTC to Jun 8, 2007, 12:00 AM UTC, with the tropical stage from Jun 1, 2007, 06:00 AM UTC to Jun 7, 2007, 09:00 PM UTC.
Where did Cyclone Gonu form?
In the North Indian basin, in the 2007 season. Its first archived position is 13.7°N, 71.6°E on May 31, 2007, 06:00 AM UTC.
Did Cyclone Gonu make landfall?
The archive places its center over land at 1 recorded position; the strongest is 23 mph on Jun 7, 2007, 09:00 PM 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