Surface mean flow and Drag coefficient behavior during Tropical cyclone GAJA at Tiruchirappalli, an in-land site, Tamil Nadu Ravichandran C.*, Bagavathsingh A.** *Department of Environmental Science, Bishop Heber College, Tiruchirappalli, India **Research and Development Centre, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, India ***Health and Safety & Environmental Group, IGCAR, Kalpakkam Online published on 24 October, 2019. Abstract Tropical cyclones are one of the deadliest and costliest natural hazards affecting the Indian coast and particularly in the eastern coastal areas of India. Accurate predictions of winds during land falling cyclone events are essential for meteorologists, emergency managers, social scientists, wind engineer and structural designer to reduce the risk of loss of life and of property damage. It is also helpful in risk analysis and model validation studies. This study examines the changes in mean wind, drag coefficient, wind gust and turbulent intensity variations during tropical cyclone GAJA at Tiruchirappalli, an in-land site of Tamil Nadu. Mean wind speed of 20–30 km h-1 gusting to 40–50 km h-1 was observed over Tiruchirappalli during the passage of tropical storm GAJA on 16th November 2018 and peak wind speeds occurred at approximately the same time during minimum pressure periods. The mean gust factor for inland site is to be 2.36 for the wind range 3–12 m s-1. This study also describes drag coefficient behavior at inland as well as near shore sites during the GAJA cyclone period using NCEPGFS model derived parameters Top Keywords Tropical Cyclone, GAJA, Drag coefficient, Inland site, Coastal site. Top |