2016 Indian Ocean cyclone season

Under the influence of a persistent area of convection, a low pressure area formed in Malay Peninsula and adjoining north Sumatra. It emerged as a tropical disturbance in the following days as it was moving slowly towards southeast Bay of Bengal. On 6 December, The IMD classified the system as Depression BOB 06 as it had sufficiently organized itself with winds exceeding 45 km/h (28 mph). Owing to low wind shear and favorable sea surface temperatures, the storm gradually intensified into a deep depression the following day. Skirting off the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as a deep depression, BOB 06 was upgraded to a cyclonic storm by the IMD and JTWC in the early hours of 8 December, assigning it the name Vardah.

Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Vardah

With conditions favorable for further development, Vardah intensified into a severe cyclonic storm on 9 December.Although predicted to maintain its intensity, Vardah consolidated further as it followed a generally west-northwestwards track, prompting the IMD to upgrade its intensity to very severe cyclonic storm status on December 10. Gradually intensifying as it moved westwards, Vardah reached its peak intensity on 11 December with winds of 80 mph (130 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of 982 mbar (29.00 inHg).

Vardah brought heavy rainfall to Andaman and Nicobar Islands as a deep depression. Hut Bay recorded 166 mm (6.5 in) of rainfall on December 6, while Port Blair recorded 167 mm (6.6 in) of rainfall on December 7. More than 1,400 tourists were stranded on the Havelock and Neil islands of the archipelago