Intense Tropical Cyclone Hondo was the strongest and longest lived
tropical cyclone
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
to develop during the
2007–08 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season. The third tropical cyclone and first intense tropical cyclone of the season, Hondo developed out of a tropical disturbance in early February about east-southeast of
Diego Garcia
Diego Garcia is an island of the British Indian Ocean Territory, a disputed overseas territory of the United Kingdom. It is a militarised atoll just south of the equator in the central Indian Ocean, and the largest of the 60 small islands o ...
. The disturbance quickly strengthened, becoming a moderate tropical storm on 4 February and a severe tropical storm the following day. After a brief period of slower intensification, Hondo
rapidly intensified
In meteorology, rapid intensification is a situation where a tropical cyclone intensifies dramatically in a short period of time. The United States National Hurricane Center defines rapid intensification as an increase in the maximum sustained wi ...
into an intense tropical cyclone and reached its peak intensity with winds of
10-minute winds) on 7 February. The cyclone gradually weakened over the next several days due to an increase in forward speed and a decrease in
sea surface temperatures
Sea surface temperature (SST), or ocean surface temperature, is the ocean temperature close to the surface. The exact meaning of ''surface'' varies according to the measurement method used, but it is between and below the sea surface. Air masse ...
. On 12 February, Hondo rapidly degenerated into a remnant-low-pressure area. Over the following week, the remnant low traveled in a general west-northwest direction with no development. On 20 February, about northeast of where the final advisories were issued, the storm began to regenerate. The next day, advisories were issued on Tropical Disturbance Ex-Hondo, which briefly strengthened into a tropical depression. However, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, Hondo continued to strengthen and attained winds of
1-minute winds) before passing directly over
Réunion
Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island ...
. Interaction with the island caused the storm to weaken and degenerate into a remnant low once more. The storm dissipated on 29 February after executing a counterclockwise loop.
Meteorological history
On 2 February, the
Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre
A Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC) is responsible for the distribution of information, advisories, and warnings regarding the specific program they have a part of, agreed by consensus at the World Meteorological Organization as p ...
for the southwest Indian Ocean,
Météo-France
Météo-France is the French national meteorological service.
Organisation
The organisation was established by decree in June 1993 and is a department of the Ministry of Transportation. It is headquartered in Paris but many domestic operatio ...
,
and the
Joint Typhoon Warning Center
The Joint typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force command in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The JTWC is responsible for the issuing of tropical cyclone warnings in the North-West Pacific Ocean, South P ...
(JTWC)
began monitoring a tropical disturbance located in the western portion of Météo-France's area of responsibility. However, it was not operationally classified as a disturbance for another two days. Traveling generally towards the southwest, the disturbance slowly strengthened.
At 0300
UTC on 4 February, the JTWC issued a
Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert
A Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert (TCFA) is a bulletin released by the U.S. Navy-operated Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Honolulu, Hawaii or the Fleet Weather Center in Norfolk, Virginia, warning of the possibility of a tropical cyclone forming ...
for the system as deep
convection
Convection is single or multiphase fluid flow that occurs spontaneously due to the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoyancy). When the cause of the convec ...
and