Tropical Cyclone Berguitta Is Heading Toward Mauritius

NASA’s Terra satellite passed over the Southern Indian Ocean and saw Tropical Cyclone Berguitta moving southwest toward the island of Mauritius. A tropical cyclone alert class 2 is in effect for Mauritius.

On Jan. 16 at 1:10 a.m. EST (0610 UTC) NASA’s Terra satellite captured this visible light image of Tropical Cyclone Berguitta moving toward Mauritius. Credits: NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team

On Jan.14, Tropical cyclone Berguitta formed and triggered warnings A class III tropical cyclone alert is in force for Rodrigues Island.

On Jan. 16 at 1:10 a.m. EST (0610 UTC) the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument aboard NASA’s Terra satellite captured a visible light image of Berguitta. The imagery showed the storm has taken on the classic comma shape of a strong tropical cyclone. A dense overcast were seen over the eye, which was surrounded by powerful bands of thunderstorms and a large, thick band of thunderstorms extended from west of the center to the southeast.

On Jan. 16 at 10 a.m. EST (1500 UTC) the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) noted that Berguitta’s maximum sustained winds were near 85 knots (97.8 mph/157.4 kph). Berguitta was located near 18.3 degrees south latitude and 60.9 degrees east longitude, about 244 nautical miles east-northeast of Port Louis, Mauritius. The storm is moving to the west-southwest at 5 knots (5.7 mph/9.2 kph).

JTWC noted that warm sea surface temperatures with other environmental factors will maintain the storm’s strength over the next day and a half.