The 2001 North Indian Ocean cyclone season was fairly quiet, although activity was evenly spread between the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal.

The storm weakened greatly before making landfall in Gujarat, and although impact on land was minor, it left up to 950 fishermen missing.

A few weeks later, the first Bay of Bengal system originated – a short-lived depression that dropped heavy rainfall upon striking Odisha.

Another cyclonic storm formed in the Bay of Bengal and struck Andhra Pradesh, which dropped heavy rainfall that was equivalent to 300% of the average October precipitation total.

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.

It moved eastward toward the coastline of southwestern India and rapidly intensified on May 22, strengthening from a deep depression to a very severe cyclonic storm within 24 hours.

By May 28, it had deteriorated into a deep depression, and the IMD downgraded the storm to a remnant low before the circulation reached the Gujarat coast.

[1] It initially consisted of a well-defined circulation on the eastern edge of an area of convection about 370 km (230 mi) west-southwest of Mumbai.

With low wind shear beneath the subtropical ridge, the system gradually organized and developed curved banding features while moving west-northwestward.

[1] On the same day, the JTWC issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert, although they did not begin advisories due to the center being on the east side of the convection.

[10] Early on September 26, the circulation moved beneath the convection, prompting the JTWC to begin advisories on Tropical Cyclone 02A.

[9] The IMD also downgraded the depression to a low-pressure area on September 28 and noted that the remnant system became poorly defined the following day.

[1] Similar to the previous storm, an area of convection formed in the Arabian Sea about 185 km (115 mi) west-southwest of Mumbai on October 7.

[1] A low-level circulation formed beneath a well-defined mid-level storm, with intense convection and strong winds north of the center.

[1] On October 15, the IMD estimated peak winds of 65 km/h (40 mph),[12] based on satellite imagery appearance warranting a Dvorak rating of 2.5; this made it a cyclonic storm.

[1] While moving ashore, the storm dropped heavy rainfall in Andhra Pradesh and extending into Tamil Nadu,[1] causing flooding in some areas for the first time in 40 years.

Several regional roads and rail lines were damaged, including portions of National Highway 5, which stranded hundreds of trucks; the routes were reopened within two weeks.

[14] For several days in June, the JTWC monitored a disturbance in the northern Bay of Bengal for potential development,[16] associated with the southwest monsoon.

[1] On November 7, a cycling area of convection was persistent off the east coast of India, associated with a broad circulation embedded within a trough.

On the next day, the remnants entered the Bay of Bengal, and thunderstorms soon reformed over the circulation due to weak to moderate wind shear.

After the remnants of Vamei regenerated, the JTWC classified it as Tropical Cyclone 05B on December 30, although the agency later treated it as a continuation of the original storm.