NASA MODIS Image of the Day: April 5, 2007 – Tropical Cyclone Jaya
Tropical Cyclone Jaya, which formed in the India Ocean on March 30, came ashore in Northern Madagascar in the morning of April 3, 2007 at around 11:00 am local time (08:00 UTC). This image was acquired by the MODIS on the Aqua satellite on April 3, 2007 at 10:15 UTC.
While the storm was still over the ocean, it went from a strong tropical storm to a Category 3 cyclone in just 36 hours. Fortunately, the storm did lose power before hitting Madagasgar, though it still had winds of around 150 kilometers per hour (90 miles per hour), a marked change from 200 km/hr (125 mph) just twelve hours earlier.
The storm did, however, strike the northern part of Madagascar, now the 6th cyclone to hit the area this season. Forecasters are concerned that Jaya might reform after crossing the island and head inland into Mozambique where residents are recovering from floods caused by recent heavy rains.
Our image of the day from April 3 shows what the storm looked like before it made landfall.
