The system made landfall over India on November 16 and caused 16 fatalities, before it weakened into a low-pressure area, and then entered the Arabian Sea on the next day.

[6][7] Only three hours later, the system was upgraded to a tropical depression and designated as 30W by JTWC, estimating it would intensify into a category 1 typhoon in the South China Sea.

At that time, the tropical depression was tracking along the southern periphery of the steering subtropical ridge to the north, and vertical wind shear was weak to moderate, offset by radial outflow and a developing poleward channel.

[8] Late on November 3, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) upgraded the system to a tropical depression and gave it the local name Wilma.

[12] Interacting with the frictional effects by passing through the Philippines, the tropical depression still got slightly organisational improvement, and it began to accelerate westward.

According to the JTWC best track data, 30W was a tropical storm at 06Z and 12Z, while the low-level circulation centre was partially exposed with the bulk of deep convection located to the north at noon.

[21] The system arrived at the Andaman Sea by crossing the Malay Peninsula before noon, but then deep convection over the low-level circulation centre dissipated rapidly.

[23] The India Meteorological Department (IMD) started to mention the system as a low-pressure area on the same day, right before it emerged into the Bay of Bengal.

[2][24] IMD upgraded it to a well-marked low-pressure area on November 11, yet a microwave imagery showed a broad low-level circulation centre with shallow convection as well as dry air beginning to wrap around the western quadrants.

[27] On November 15, JTWC upgraded the system to a tropical cyclone and continued designating it 30W, when the low-level circulation centre was tightly wrapped but partially exposed with deep convection sheared to the west.

[33] In Sirkazhi, electric posts were damaged with power supply suspended in most parts of the district, and the roof of a school building flew off due to squally winds.