The basin comprises the Indian Ocean north of the equator, with warnings issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in New Delhi.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) also tracked storms in the basin on an unofficial basis, estimating winds sustained over 1 minute.

In August, a weak depression struck the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, producing additional flooding after a deluge affected the area in July.

The basin's activity is sub-divided between the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal on opposite coasts of India, and is generally split before and after the monsoon season.

[4] Toward the end of March, an area of convection increased over the southern Bay of Bengal from an active equatorial trough.

[4] During the last week of August, the state recorded the highest precipitation in 46 years, which overflowed lakes and flooded several towns.

By October 14, there was an exposed circulation center east of the convection,[9] although it organized enough for the IMD to classify it as a well-marked low-pressure area.

[4] Later that day, the JTWC issued a TCFA and the IMD upgraded it to a deep depression, based on improving outflow and organization.

[9] On October 16, a nearby ship reported winds of 65 km/h (40 mph),[4] and that day the JTWC began tracking the system as Tropical Cyclone 01B.

[9] Early the next day, the IMD followed suit and upgraded the deep depression to a cyclonic storm, estimating peak winds of 65 km/h (40 mph).

On October 18, the IMD downgraded the system to a deep depression, and the storm dissipated on the next day as it approached the eastern coast of India.

[9] Similar to the previous storm, the active monsoon trough spawned a low-pressure area over the Andaman Sea on October 24.

Early on October 28, the storm made landfall in southern Bangladesh near Mongla, by which time the wind shear had displaced much of the convection to the northeast.

[12] High floods and wind gusts up to 100 km/h (60 mph) damaged homes in Satkhira and Jessore districts,[11] forcing thousands to evacuate to storm shelters.

[12] The storm knocked over trees, wrecked roads, and destroyed rice fields along its path through the low-lying country.

Outflow and convective organization gradually increased, and late on November 26 the JTWC classified it as Tropical Cyclone 03B.

[4][9] By November 28, a 20 km (12 mi) wide eye was developing, prompting the JTWC to upgrade the storm to the equivalent of a minimal hurricane with winds of 120 km/h (75 mph).

Wind shear in the region prevented further strengthening, and the storm weakened slightly before making landfall on November 29 in eastern India near Cuddalore.

The remnants emerged into the eastern Arabian Sea on December 1, by which time most thunderstorms had dissipated over the deteriorating center.

Across Tamil Nadu, high winds knocked over 30,000 trees, and many coconuts, plantains, and rice paddy farms were damaged in nearby Puducherry.

[15] An eye developed in the center of the blossoming convection, and the system rapidly intensified into a very severe cyclonic storm on December 26.

According to the IMD, the cyclone attained peak winds of 165 km/h (105 mph), and made landfall at that intensity along eastern Sri Lanka near Trincomalee around 12:00 UTC on December 26.

[4] The strongest storm to threaten Sri Lanka since 1992,[4] the cyclone produced estimated wind gusts of 175 km/h (110 mph) near where it moved ashore.

[15] While crossing the country, the cyclone dropped between 4 and 8 inches (100 to 200 mm) of precipitation, compounding the effects of severe monsoonal flooding from the previous month.