Tropical Cyclone 03B raked across southeast India’s Andhra Pradesh state early on December 16, 2003. The storm brought 75 mile per hour winds, heavy rain, and cool temperatures, forcing nearly 20,000 people to flee their homes. As of December 17, officials had reported nine cyclone-related deaths, but media reports gave much higher figures. The storm destroyed homes, uprooted trees, and devastated crops. This true-color Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image shows the storm as it approaches the Indian coastline on December 15, 2003. The cyclone was the first to hit the state in 18 years.
The high-resolution image provided above is at 500 meters per pixel. The image is available in additional resolutions, including MODIS’ maximum spatial resolution of 250 meters per pixel.
Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC
