Cyclone GELANE – UPDATE 3 (Feb 20)

GELANE Still a Major Hurricane, May Turn Deadly

Tropical Cyclone GELANE, having reached sustained wind speeds of  about 235 km/hr, is now a Cat. 4A Hurricane force on the FEWW New Hurricane Scale with sustained winds of about 218 km/he (117.5 kt) and wind gusts of up to 260 km/hr (140 kt).

The Cyclone could track west moving toward Madagascar with the islands of Mauritius and  Réunion still in crosshairs.

Cyclone GELANE Visible/IR Satellite Image. Source: UW-CIMSS.  Click images to enlarge.

Tropical Cyclone GELANE (TC 16S) Details

• Date/Time: 20 February 2010 –  01:00 UTC
• Position:  Near 18.5ºS, 61.5ºE
• Sustained Movement: 200  degrees
  
• Forward speed:  13 km/hr ( 7 kt)
• The system has been tracking  SSW.
  

Current Wind Distribution:

• Maximum Sustained winds: 218 km/hr (117.5 kt)
• Maximum Gusts:  ~ 260 km/hr (~ 140kt)
• GELANE is currently a Cat. 4A Hurricane on FEWW New Hurricane Scale

Wave Height and Location:

• Maximum significant wave height: ~ 10m (30 ft)
  
• Location: TC GELANE was located about ~ 685km (~ 370 NM) NORTHEAST (246.3 degrees) of  Saint-Denis, Réunion, and about 455 km EAST-NORTHEAST (245.5 degrees) of  Port Louis, Mauritius.
  
• Sources: CIMSS, JTWC and Others

See also: UW- CIMSS Cyclone Portal

GELANE Satellite Image – Meto France.

• Radar Animation
• Satellite image animation

The MODIS instrument on NASA’s Aqua satellite caught an impressive visible image of Gelane on February 19 at 09:45 UTC (4:45 a.m. ET) that clearly showed the eye of this Category 4 cyclone. Credit: NASA MODIS Rapid Response Team. Click Image to Enlarge!

The AIRS instrument on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured Gelane on Feb. 19 at 4:41 a.m. ET (09:41UTC). Even Gelane’s eye is visible in this infrared image, and it’s surrounded by very high, powerful thunderstorms with cloud tops as cold as -63F. Credit: NASA/JPL, Ed Olsen. Click Image to Enlarge!

Related Links:

• CYCLONE GELANE: AVOID ME IF YOU CAN
• Cyclone GELANE UPDATE 2 (Feb 19)
• Cyclone GELANE (TC 16S) UPDATE 1 (Feb 18)
• Cyclone GELANE (TC 16S)
• FEWW New Hurricane Scale