Tag Archives: La Reunion

Tropical Cyclone Gezani Forms North of Mauritius

Tropical Cyclone Gezani formed over the South Indian Ocean north of Mauritius on Saturday night.  At 10:00 a.m. EST on Sunday the center of Tropical Cyclone Gezani was located at latitude 18.3°S and longitude 56.4°E which put the center about 130 miles (210 km) north-northwest of Port Louis, Mauritius.  Gezani was moving toward the west-southwest at 5 m.p.h. (8 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 40 m.p.h. (65 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 50 m.p.h. (80 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 1003 mb.

A low pressure system over the South Indian Ocean strengthened on Saturday night and Meteo France La Reunion designated the system as Tropical Cyclone Gezani.

The distribution of thunderstorms in Tropical Cyclone Gezani was asymmetrical.  Thunderstorms were occurring in bands in the western and northern parts of Gezani’s circulation.  Bands in the eastern and southern parts of Tropical Cyclone Gezani consisted primarily of showers and lower clouds.  Storms near the center of Gezani started to generate upper level divergence that pumped mass away to the west of the tropical cyclone.

The circulation around Tropical Cyclone Gezani was small.  Winds to tropical storm force extended out 70 miles (110 km) from the center of Gezani’s circulation.

Tropical Cyclone Gezani will move through an environment that will be somewhat favorable 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 northern part of an upper level ridge that is over the South Indian Ocean.  The upper level ridge will produce easterly winds that will blow toward the top of Gezani’s circulation.  Those winds will cause moderate vertical wind shear.  The moderate vertical wind shear will inhibit intensification, but the wind shear will probably not be enough to prevent intensification.  Tropical Cyclone Gezani is likely to intensify during the next 24 hours.

Tropical Cyclone Gezani will move around the northern side of a high pressure system that is over the South Indian Ocean.  The high pressure system will steer Gezani toward the west during the next 24 hours.  On its anticipated track, Tropical Cyclone Gezani will approach the east coast of Madagascar early in 36 hours.

Tropical Cyclone Fytia Moves South of La Reunion

Tropical Cyclone Fytia moved south of La Reunion on Tuesday.  At 10:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday the center of Tropical Cyclone Fytia was located at latitude 23.7°S and longitude 55.0°E which put the center about 215 miles (350 km) south of St. Denis, La Reunion.  Fytia was moving toward the east at 3 m.p.h. (5 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 50 m.p.h. (80 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 65 m.p.h. (105 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 995 mb.

Tropical Cyclone Fytia weakened on Tuesday as it continued to make a transition to an extratropical cyclone.  An upper level trough that was southeast of Madagascar produced strong northwesterly winds that blew across the top of Fytia’s circulation.  Those strong winds blew the tops off of many of the thunderstorms in Tropical Cyclone Fytia.  There were still some thunderstorms in bands in the southeastern part of Fytia’s circulation.  Bands in the other parts of Tropical Cyclone Fytia consisted primarily of showers and lower clouds.

The distribution of wind speeds in Tropical Cyclone Fytia was asymmetrical.  Winds to tropical storm force extended out 105 miles (165 km) in the southeastern quadrant of Fytia’s circulation.  Winds to tropical storm force extended out 70 miles (110 km) in the other parts of Tropical Cyclone Fytia.

Tropical Cyclone Fytia will move through an environment that will be unfavorable for intensification of a tropical cyclone during the next 24 hours.  Fytia will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperatures are near 27°C.  However, the upper level trough southeast of Madagascar will continue to produce strong northwesterly winds that will across the top of Fytia’s circulation.  Those winds will cause strong vertical wind shear.  The strong vertical wind shear will cause Tropical Cyclone Fytia to continue to weaken gradually as it makes a transition to an extratropical cyclone during the next 24 hours.

The upper level trough southeast of Madagascar will steer Tropical Cyclone Fytia toward the southeast during the next 24 hours.  On its anticipated track, Tropical Cyclone Fytia will move south of Mauritius on Wednesday.

Tropical Cyclone Fytia Passes Southwest of La Reunion

Tropical Cyclone Fytia was passing southwest of La Reunion on Monday morning.  At 10:00 a.m. EST on Monday the center of Tropical Cyclone Fytia was located at latitude 22.3°S and longitude 53.4°E which put the center about 180 miles (290 km) southwest of St. Denis, La Reunion.  Fytia was moving toward the south-southeast at 13 m.p.h. (21 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 60 m.p.h. (95 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 75 m.p.h. (120 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 993 mb.

Tropical Cyclone Fytia exhibited signs of the beginning of a transition to an extratropical cyclone on Monday morning.  The distribution of thunderstorms in Fytia was becoming asymmetrical.  Most of the thunderstorms were occurring in bands in the western half of Fytia’s circulation.  Many of the bands in the eastern side of Tropical Cyclone Fytia consisted primarily of showers and lower clouds.  Storms near the center of Fytia still were generating upper level divergence that pumped mass away to the southeast of the tropical cyclone.  The removal of mass caused the surface pressure to decrease.

The distribution of winds speeds in Tropical Cyclone Fytia was also more asymmetrical on Monday morning.  Winds to tropical storm force extended out 120 miles (195 km) in the southern half of Fytia’s circulation.  Winds to tropical storm force extended out 80 miles (130 km) in the northern half of Tropical Cyclone Fytia.

Tropical Cyclone Fytia will move into an environment that will become unfavorable for intensification of a tropical cyclone during the next 24 hours.  Fytia will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperatures are near 27°C.  It will move under the southwestern part of an upper level ridge that is over La Reunion and Mauritius.  The upper level ridge will produce strong northwesterly winds that will blow toward the top of Fytia’s circulation.  Those winds will cause strong vertical wind shear.  The strong vertical wind shear will inhibit intensification.  The strong vertical wind shear will also cause Tropical Cyclone Fytia to make a gradual transition to an extratropical cyclone during the next several days.  Fytia is likely to weaken slowly during the next 24 hours.

Tropical Cyclone Fytia will move around the southwestern side of a high pressure system that is over the Southwest Indian Ocean.  The high pressure system will steer Fytia toward the southeast during the next 24 hours.  On its anticipated track, Tropical Cyclone Fytia will pass south of La Reunion and Mauritius during the middle part of this week.

Tropical Cyclone Fytia Moves East of Madagascar

Tropical Cyclone Fytia moved to the east of Madagascar on Sunday.  At 10:00 a.m. EST on Sunday the center of Tropical Cyclone Fytia was located at latitude 20.7°S and longitude 50.7°E which put the center about 145 miles (235 km) southeast of Toamasina, Madagascar.  Fytia was moving toward the southeast at 14 m.p.h. (22 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 50 m.p.h. (80 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 65 m.p.h. (105 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 995 mb.

Tropical Cyclone Fytia started to intensify again after it moved over the Southwest Indian Ocean east of Madagascar on Sunday.  More thunderstorms developed near the center of Fytia’s circulation.  More thunderstorms also formed in bands revolving around the center of Tropical Cyclone Fytia.  Storms near the center of Fytia generated more upper level divergence that pumped mass away to the south and east of the tropical cyclone.

The circulation around Tropical Cyclone Fytia was still small.  Winds to tropical storm force extended out 80 miles (130 km) from the center of Fytia’s circulation.

Tropical Cyclone Fytia will move through an environment somewhat favorable for intensification during the next 24 hours.  Fytia will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperatures are near 28°C.  It will move under the southwestern part of an upper level ridge that is over La Reunion and Mauritius.  The upper level ridge will produce northwesterly winds that will blow toward the top of Fytia’s circulation.  Those winds will cause moderate vertical wind shear.  The moderate vertical wind shear will inhibit intensification, but the wind shear will not be enough to prevent intensification.  Tropical Cyclone Fytia will intensify during the next 24 hours.

Tropical Cyclone Fytia will move around the southwestern side of a high pressure system that is over the Southwest Indian Ocean.  The high pressure system will steer Fytia toward the southeast during the next 24 hours.  On its anticipated track, Tropical Cyclone Fytia continue to move away from Madagascar.  Fytia will pass south of La Reunion and Mauritius later this week.

Tropical Cyclone Dudzai Passes Southeast of Rodrigues

Tropical Cyclone Dudzai was passing southeast of Rodrigues on Sunday evening.  At 10:00 p.m. EST on Sunday the center of the Tropical Cyclone Dudzai was located at latitude 21.3°S and longitude 62.2°E which put the center about 130 miles (210 km) east-southeast of Port Mathurin, Rodrigues.  Dudzai was moving toward the west-southwest at 13 m.p.h. (21 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 60 m.p.h. (95 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 75 m.p.h. (120 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 993 mb.

The intensity of Tropical Cyclone Dudzai did not change much on Sunday.  Even though Dudzai’s intensity did not change a lot, its structure began to show signs of the start of a transition to an extratropical cyclone.  Tropical Cyclone Dudzai moved over slightly cooler water on Sunday.  Since the slightly cooler water contained less energy, thunderstorms in Dudzai did not rise as high into the atmosphere.  There were also fewer thunderstorms near the center of Tropical Cyclone Dudzai.  Some bands of showers and thunderstorms were still revolving around the center of Dudzai’s circulation.

The distribution of wind winds speeds in Tropical Cyclone Dudzai continued to be very asymmetrical.  Winds to tropical storm force extended out 165 miles (265 km) in the southern half of Dudzai’s circulation.  Winds to tropical storm force only extended out 60 miles (95 km) in the northern half of Tropical Cyclone Dudzai.

Tropical Cyclone Duzai will move through an environment that will be unfavorable for intensification a tropical cyclone during the next 24 hours.  Dudzai will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperatures are near 26°C.  It will move under the eastern part of an upper level low that is southeast of Mauritius and La Reunion.  The upper level low will produce northeasterly winds that will blow toward the top of Dudzai’s circulation.  Those winds will cause moderate vertical wind shear.  The vertical wind shear and cooler Sea Surface Temperatures will cause Tropical Cyclone Dudzai to make a transition to an extratropical cyclone during the next couple of days.

Tropical Cyclone Dudzai will move around the northern part of a high pressure system over the South Indian Ocean.  The high pressure system will steer Dudzai toward the west-southwest during the next 24 hours.  On its anticipated track, ropical Cyclone Dudzai will move away from Rodrigues on Monday.  Dudzai will pass southeast of Mauritius and La Reunion early this week.

Tropical Cyclone Jenna Develops Near Cocos Islands

Tropical Cyclone Jenna developed over the South Indian Ocean near the Cocos Islands on Sunday night.  At 4:00 a.m. EST on Monday the center of Tropical Cyclone Jenna was located at latitude 12.7°S and longitude 96.9°E which put the center about 15 miles (25 km) east of the Cocos, Islands.  Jenna was moving toward the south-southwest at 14 m.p.h. (22 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 50 m.p.h. (80 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 65 m.p.h. (105 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 1000 mb.

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology issued a Warning for the Cocos Islands.

A low pressure system over the South Indian Ocean near the Cocos Islands strengthened on Sunday night and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology designated the system as Tropical Cyclone Jenna.

The circulation around Tropical Cyclone Jenna exhibited more organization early on Monday.  The inner end of a rainband wrapped around the western side of the center of Jenna’s circulation.  Bands of showers and thunderstorms were revolving around the center of Tropical Cyclone Jenna.  Storms near the center of Jenna generated upper level divergence that pumped mass away from the tropical cyclone.  The removal of mass caused the surface pressure to decrease.

The distribution of wind speeds in Tropical Cyclone Jenna was relatively symmetrical.  Winds to tropical storm force extended out 145 miles (235 km) from the center of Jenna’s circulation.

Tropical Cyclone Jenna will move through an environment favorable for intensification during the next 24 hours.  Jenna will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperatures are near 28°C.  It will move through a region where the upper level winds are weak and the will be little vertical wind shear.  Tropical Cyclone Jenna will intensify during the next 24 hours.

Tropical Cyclone Jenna will move around the western side of a high pressure system that is over the eastern part of the South Indian Ocean.  The high pressure system will steer Jenna toward the south-southwest during the next 24 hours.  On its anticipated track, Tropical Cyclone Jenna will move away from the Cocos Islands later today.

Tropical Cyclone Jenna will bring strong winds and heavy rain to the Cocos Islands during the next few hours.  Heavy rain could cause flash floods in some locations.

Elsewhere over the South Indian Ocean, Tropical Cyclone Grant was passing north of La Reunion.  At 7:00 a.m.EST Monday the center of Tropical Cyclone Grant was located at latitude 16.2°S and longitude 56.0°E which put the center about 325 miles (525 km) north of La Reunion,   Grant was moving toward the west at 11 m.p.h. (17 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 30 m.p.h. (50 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 40 m.p.h. (65 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 1006 mb.

Tropical Cyclone Grant Moves Northeast of Mauritius

Tropical Cyclone Grant moved northeast of Mauritius on Saturday.  At 10:00 p.m. EST on Saturday the center of Tropical Cyclone Grant was located at latitude 15.6°S and longitude 62.3°E which put the center about 480 miles (775 km) northeast of Port Louis, Mauritius.  Grant was moving toward the west-southwest at 9 m.p.h. (15 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 35 m.p.h. (55 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 45 m.p.h. (75 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 1002 mb.

Tropical Cyclone Grant weakened slightly earlier on Saturday.  However, more thunderstorms developed in Grant’s circulation on Saturday evening.  Numerous thunderstorms formed in the bands in the western half of Tropical Cyclone Grant.  New thunderstorms also started to develop in bands east of the center of Grant’s circulation.  Thunderstorms near the center of Grant began to generate more upper level divergence that pumped more mass away from the tropical cyclone.

Tropical Cyclone Grant will move through an environment that will be somewhat favorable for intensification during the next 24 hours.  Grant will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperatures are near 28°C.  It will move under the northern part of an upper level ridge over the South Indian Ocean.  The upper level ridge will produce easterly winds that will blow toward the top of Grant’s circulation.  Those winds will cause moderate vertical wind shear. The moderate wind shear will inhibit intensification, but the wind shear will be less than it has been during the past few days. Tropical Cyclone Grant could intensity during the next 24 hours.

Tropical Cyclone Grant will move around the northern side of a high pressure system over the South Indian Ocean.  The high pressure system will steer Grant toward the west-southwest during the next 24 hours.  On its anticipated track, Tropical Cyclone Grant will pass north of Mauritius and La Reunion on Monday.  Grant could approach the east coast of Madagascar on Tuesday.

Tropical Cyclone Grant Moves Northeast of Rodrigues

Tropical Cyclone Grant moved northeast of Rodrigues over the South Indian Ocean on Friday.  At 10:00 a.m. EST on Friday the center of Tropical Cyclone Grant was located at latitude 15.2°S and longitude 66.4°E which put the center about 375 miles (605 km) north-northeast of Rodrigues.  Grant was moving toward the west-northwest at 6 m.p.h. (10 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 40 m.p.h. (65 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 50 m.p.h. (80 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 1000 mb.

Tropical Cyclone Grant was maintaining its intensity on Friday morning.  An upper level ridge over the South Indian Ocean continued to produce easterly winds that blew toward the top of Grant’s circulation.  Those winds were causing strong vertical wind shear.  The strong vertical wind shear was affecting the structure of Tropical Cyclone Grant.  Thunderstorms were still occurring in bands in the western half of Grant’s circulation.  Bands in the eastern half of Grant consisted primarily of showers and lower clouds.  Storms near the center of Grant still generated upper level divergence that pumped mass away to the west of the tropical cyclone. However, the removal of mass in the upper levels was about the same as the convergence of mass in the lower levels of the atmosphere.  So, the surface pressure remained nearly constant.

The vertical wind shear was also affecting the distribution of wind speeds in Tropical Cyclone Grant.  Winds to tropical storm force extended out 70 miles (110 km) in the western side of Grant’s circulation.  The winds in the eastern side of Tropical Cyclone Grant were blowing at less that tropical storm force.

Tropical Cyclone Grant will move through an environment that will be marginally favorable for intensification during the next 24 hours.  Grant will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperatures are near 28°C.  It will move under the northern part of an upper level ridge over the South Indian Ocean.  The upper level ridge will continue to produce easterly winds that will blow toward the top of Grant’s circulation.  Those winds will cause moderate vertical wind shear.  The moderate wind shear will inhibit intensification.  Tropical Cyclone Grant is likely to maintain its intensity during the next 24 hours.

Tropical Cyclone Grant will move around the northern side of a high pressure system over the South Indian  Ocean. The high pressure system will steer Grant toward the west during the next 24 hours.  On its anticipated track, Tropical Cyclone Grant will pass north of Rodrigues on Saturday.  Grant will pass north of Mauritius and La Reunion on Monday.  Tropical Cyclone Grant could approach the east coast of Madagascar on Tuesday.

Elsewhere over the South Indian Ocean, Tropical Cyclone Iggy weakened south-southeast of Christmas Island.  At 10:00 a.m. EST on Friday the center of Tropical Cyclone Iggy was located at latitude 16.8°S and longitude 1086°E which put the center about 455 miles (735 km) south-southeast of Christmas Island.  Iggy was moving toward the southwest at 9 m.p.h. (15 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 40 m.p.h. (65 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 50 m.p.h. (80 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 1003 mb.

Tropical Cyclone Grant Weakens

Tropical Cyclone Grant weakened as it moved over the South Indian Ocean northeast of Rodrigues on Thursday.  At 10:00 p.m. EST on Thursday the center of Tropical Cyclone Grant was located at latitude 15.7°S and longitude 67.1°E which put the center about 370 miles (600 km) northeast of Rodrigues.  Grant was moving toward the west-northwest at 5 m.p.h. (8 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 40 m.p.h. (65 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 50 m.p.h. (80 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 997 mb.

Tropical Cyclone Grant weakened rapidly on Thursday.  An upper level ridge over the South Indian Ocean produced easterly winds that blew toward the top of Grant’s circulation.  Those winds caused strong vertical wind shear.  The strong wind shear caused Tropical Cyclone Grant to weaken rapidly.

The strong vertical wind shear also affected the structure of Tropical Cyclone Grant.  Thunderstorms were still occurring in bands in the western half of Grant’s circulation.  Bands in the eastern half of Grant consisted primarily of showers and lower clouds.  Storms near the center of Grant still generated upper level divergence that pumped mass away to the west of the tropical cyclone.  However, the removal of mass in the upper levels was much less than the convergence of mass in the lower levels of the atmosphere.  So, the surface pressure increased rapidly on Thursday.

The circulation around Tropical Cyclone Grant was small.  Winds to tropical storm force extended out 100 miles (160 km) from the center of Grant’s circulation.

Tropical Cyclone Grant will move through an environment that will be marginally favorable for intensification during the next 24 hours.  Grant will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperatures are near 28°C.  It will move under the northern part of an upper level ridge over the South Indian Ocean.  The upper level ridge will continue to produce easterly winds that will blow toward the top of Grant’s circulation.  Those winds will cause moderate vertical wind shear.  The moderate wind shear will inhibit intensification.  Tropical Cyclone Grant is likely to maintain its intensity during the next 24 hours.

Tropical Cyclone Grant will move around the northern side of a high pressure system over the South Indian Ocean.  The high pressure system will steer Grant toward the west during the next 24 hours.  On its anticipated track, Tropical Cyclone Grant will pass north of Rodrigues on Saturday.  Grant will pass north of Mauritius and La Reunion on Monday.

Elsewhere over the South Indian Ocean, Tropical Cyclone Iggy moved farther away from Christmas Island.  At 10:00 p.m. EST on Thursday the center of Tropical Cyclone Iggy was located at latitude 15.4°S and longitude 106.5°E which put the center about 425 miles (685 km) south-southeast of Christmas Island.  Iggy was moving toward the south-southeast at 8 m.p.h. (13 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 45 m.p.h. (75 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 60 m.p.h. (95 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 1000 mb.

Tropical Cyclone Awo Forms Over South Indian Ocean

Tropical Cyclone Awo formed over the South Indian Ocean west of Diego Garcia on Thursday.  At 11:00 a.m. EDT on Thursday the center of Tropical Cyclone Awo was located at latitude 7.0°S and longitude 60.5°E which put the center about 1000 miles (1615 km) north-northeast of La Reunion.  Awo was moving toward the west-northwest at 12 m.p.h. (19 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 40 m.p.h. (65 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 50 m.p.h. (80 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 1002 mb.

A low pressure system over the South Indian Ocean west of Diego Garcia strengthened on Thursday morning and Meteo France La Reunion designated the system as Tropical Cyclone Awo.

More thunderstorms formed near the center of Tropical Cyclone Awo on Thursday morning.  Thunderstorms were also occurring in bands in the western side of Awo’s circulation.  Bands in the eastern side of Tropical Cyclone Awo consisted primarily of showers and lower clouds.  Storms near the center of Awo generated upper level divergence that pumped mass away to the west of the tropical cyclone.

The strongest winds were blowing in the southern half of Tropical Cyclone Awo.  Winds to tropical storm force extended out 80 miles (130 km) in the southern side of Awo’s circulation. The winds in the northern half of Tropical Cyclone Awo were blowing at less that tropical storm force.

Tropical Cyclone Awo will move through an environment that will become unfavorable for intensification during the next 24 hours.  Awo will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperatures are near 25°C.  It will move under the northern part of an upper level ridge over the South Indian Ocean.  The upper level ridge will produce easterly winds that will blow toward the top of Awo’s circulation.  Those winds will cause moderate to strong vertical wind shear.  The combination of cool Sea Surface temperatures and moderate to strong wind shear will cause Tropical Cyclone Awo to weaken during the next 24 hours.

Tropical Cyclone Awo will move around the northern side of a high pressure system over the South Indian Ocean.  The high pressure system will steer Awo toward the west during the next 24hours.  On its anticipated track, Tropical Cyclone Awo will remain far to the north of La Reunion.