A tropical cyclone designated 03S, named Ava at 09:00 UTC, January 3, has formed east of Madagascar and is currently affecting Reunion, Mauritius and especially northern Madagascar where heavy rain is already causing problems. The cyclone is expected to gain in force until it makes landfall early Friday, January 5, 2018 (UTC) along the northeastern coast of Madagascar. Strong winds, dangerous storm surge, heavy rain, flooding and landslides are expected!
At 09:00 UTC on January 3, the center of Tropical Cyclone "Ava" was located approximately 280 km (174 miles) E of Antalaha and 466 km (290 miles) NE of Toamasina, Madagascar. The system has tracked SE at 7 km/h (4 mph) over the past six hours, JTWC noted.
The peak intensity of 120 km/h (75 mph) is expected by 18:00 UTC on January 4.
