Tropical Storm Bheki On Track To Pass Close Mauritius
Tropical Cyclone Bheki continued its southwest movement over the southern Indian Ocean towards Mauritius on November 18, with maximum sustained winds reaching 201 km/h, though it slightly weakened.
According to Reliefweb, as of November 19 at 6:00 UTC, the cyclone’s centre was located approximately 1,000 km northeast of Mauritius and 1,220 km northeast of Réunion, France, with maximum sustained winds of 137 km/h.
Bheki is expected to continue southwest as a tropical storm on November 19-20, passing close to Rodrigues Island, Mauritius, early on November 20 with maximum sustained winds of 75 km/h.
The cyclone is forecast to approach Mauritius and Réunion closely on the morning of November 21, maintaining the same maximum sustained winds.
Heavy rainfall is expected over Mauritius, Rodrigues Island, and Réunion over the next 96 hours.
The first storm of the 2024-2025 cyclone season in the southwest Indian Ocean, named Ancha, was designated by the Comoros. Following this, the cyclone Bheki was named by Eswatini.
If another storm forms before the season ends, it will be called Chido, a name provided by Zimbabwe.
Subsequent names include Dikeledi, designated by South Africa, and Yemurai, which is also from Zimbabwe, for the 25th storm of the season.
Each year, tropical cyclones are named in alphabetical order, alternating between male and female names.
The list of names is proposed by the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) members in a specific region and is approved by the corresponding tropical cyclone regional bodies during their annual or biannual sessions.
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