Dubai: Cyclones regularly form in June as the wet season in India develops, but most years they do not come near the Arabian Peninsula, a weather forecaster said.

Dr S.K. Gupta, a forecaster at Dubai International Airport, said in 25 years of working here, he had known just two storms as severe as Gonu in their effects on Oman and the UAE.

"These storms always form in the Arabian Sea during the Indian south-west monsoon period in June, but usually they move north or north-east, hitting Gujarat in India or Pakistan.

This one however has come right up to Oman," he said.
Gupta said upper-air currents were partly responsible for bringing the storm towards Arabia, adding that warm seas near Oman gave the storm extra energy that made it more severe once it hit.