After changing little in intensity for much of 6November, Gay strengthened as the ridge to its north intensified and the previous restrictions to its outflow diminished. The storm moved due west through a small fetch of warmer waters, fueling the process of intensification over the next 42 hours. Based on estimates provided through the use of the Dvorak technique, the JTWC assessed Gay to have attained its peak intensity as a Category5-equivalent cyclone with winds of 260km/h (160mph) early on 8November. Around this time, the IMD estimated that the storm had three-minute sustained winds of 240km/h (145mph), classifying Gay as a modern-day super cyclonic storm. Additionally, the agency estimated the cyclone's central pressure to have decreased to 930mbar (hPa; 27.46inHg). Around 1800UTC, Gay made landfall over a sparsely populated area near Kavali, India, in Andhra Pradesh. Upon coming ashore, the storm's eye was about 20km (12mi) wide, with gale-force winds within 95km (60mi) of the center. Now over land, Gay no longer had access to warm waters, causing it to weaken to a tropical storm less than twelve hours after this landfall. The storm continued to deteriorate while moving across India, before it completely dissipated over Maharashtra on 10 November.