Tropical Cyclone Gezani moved away from Mozambique on Saturday. At 10:00 p.m. EST on Saturday the center of Tropical Cyclone Gezani was located at latitude 26.7°S and longitude 39.0°E which put the center about 365 miles (590 km) east of Maputo, Mozambique. Gezani was moving toward the east at 7 m.p.h. (11 km/h). The maximum sustained wind speed was 100 m.p.h. (160 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 120 m.p.h. (195 km/h). The minimum surface pressure was 967 mb.
Tropical Cyclone Gezani started to weaken on Saturday as it moved away from Mozambique. An eye was no longer visible in satellite images of the center of Gezani’s circulation. Thunderstorms were still occurring near the center of Tropical Cyclone Gezani. Bands of showers and thunderstorms were still revolving around the center of Gezani’s circulation. Storms near the center of Gezani generated upper level divergence that pumped mass away from the tropical cyclone. However, the removal of mass in the upper levels was less than the convergence of mass in the lower levels of the atmosphere. So, the surface pressure increased on Saturday.
The size of the circulation around Tropical Cyclone Gezani increased a little on Saturday. Winds to hurricane/typhoon force extended out 60 miles (95 km) from the center of Gezani’s circulation. Winds to tropical storm force extended out 90 miles (145 km) from the center of Tropical Cyclone Gezani.
Tropical Cyclone Gezani will move through an environment that will be unfavorable for intensification during the next 24 hours. Gezani will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperatures are near 28°C. It will move under the eastern side of an upper level trough that is over South Africa. The upper level trough will produce northwesterly winds that will blow toward the top of Gezani’s circulation. Those winds will cause moderate vertical wind shear. Tropical Cyclone Gezani will weaken during the next 24 hours because of the moderate vertical wind shear. The vertical wind shear will cause Gezani to start to make a transition to an extratropical cyclone on Sunday.
The upper level trough will steer Tropical Cyclone Gezani toward the east during the next 24 hours. On its anticipated track, Tropical Cyclone Gezani will continue to move away from the coast of Mozambique on Sunday.