Multiple storms struck the region of Madagascar and the Mozambique Channel in early 2012: Tropical Depression Dando in mid-January, Tropical Cyclone Funso in late January, and Tropical Cyclone Giovanna in mid-February. At the end of February, a fourth storm came to life. Irina started as a tropical storm on February 29. By March 1, the U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) reported, it was a tropical cyclone. Irina had maximum sustained winds of 55 knots (100 kilometers per hour) with gusts up to 70 knots (130 kilometers per hour).

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this natural-color image on March 1, 2012. The storm appears to feature a coiled center surrounded by large spiral arms. Clouds cover most of Madagascar.

Giovanna formed as a tropical storm over the southern Indian Ocean on February 9, 2012, and strengthened to a tropical cyclone the next day. On February 10, the U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) reported that Giovanna had maximum sustained winds of 65 knots (120 kilometers per hour) and gusts up to 80 knots (150 kilometers per hour). Located roughly 480 nautical miles (890 kilometers) northeast of Réunion, the storm was moving toward the west-southwest.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this natural-color image on February 10, 2012. Giovanna hovers over the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar.

The JTWC forecast that Giovanna would intensify over the next day and a half, reaching wind speeds of 110 knots (205 kilometers per hour). After making landfall on Madagascar, Giovanna was expected to temporarily weaken, but regain strength over the Mozambique Channel, where warm waters fueled Tropical Cyclone Funso in January 2012.