Tropical Storm Gonu

Tropical Storm GONU is heading for landfall in Iran. OK, I know that the Persian Gulf is not the Gulf Coast that I had in mind when I started this site but what-the-hey.

The Arabian Sea near the Strait of Hormuz has a lorge number of facilities on both sides of the waterway and there could certainly be an effect on energy costs on our side of the world so it is worth noticing. I've noticed around here that we are seeing a slight dip in gasoline prices this past week. Storms have the potential to disrupt services here in the Gulf of Mexico and with all oil and gas pricing linked worldwide a storm in this area of the world could have an impact on a local level.

Omani ports were closed and flights suspended at Muscat airport, but shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, which carries up to 40% of world oil supplies, has not been disrupted.

The authorities at Sohar port closed all operations and evacuated the 11,000 workers.

"These people know the force of the sea and they're doing the right thing," said port spokesman Dirk Jan De Vink. "Most of them are leaving or have already left."

If shipping is halted in the strait, analysts said there could be panic in world oil markets and a steep rise in prices, at least for a short period.

This storm had some real potential. Now it is decaying from a tropical storm with 60 knot winds to 45 knots within the next 12 hours and will be a tropical depression by tomorrow. (Source: Tropical Storm Risk.com). It is interesting to note that Gonu actually reached Cat 5 status for a short while still over water before falling off in strength even faster that it had grown. As the storm makes landfall in Iran it'll likely be a rainmaker but not much else.

However, the cyclone caused much damage in Oman where the capital suffered damage and flooding. This storm was apparently the strongest to hit the area in several decades.

The original storm track began deep in the center of the Indian Ocean and headed on a northwesterly path for its entire duration.