NASA MODIS Image of the Day: February 11, 2012 – Tropical Cyclone 12S (Giovanna (12S) in the south Indian
Giovanna formed as a tropical storm over the southern Indian Ocean on February 9, 2012, and strengthened to a tropical cyclone the next day.
On February 10, the U.
S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) reported that Giovanna had maximum sustained winds of 65 knots (120 km/hr, 74.5 mph) and gusts up to 80 knots (150 km/hr, 93 mph). Located roughly 480 nautical miles (890 km, 553 mi) northeast of Réunion, the storm was moving toward the west-southwest. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this natural-color image on February 10, 2012. Giovanna hovers over the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar. The JTWC forecast that Giovanna would intensify over the next day and a half, reaching wind speeds of 110 knots (205 km/hr, 127 mph). After making landfall on Madagascar, Giovanna was expected to temporarily weaken, but regain strength over the Mozambique Channel, where warm waters fueled Tropical Cyclone Funso in January 2012.
