image: NASA-JAXA's GPM satellite passed over Tropical Storm Fundi on Feb. 8 at 5 p.m. EST that showed a fragmented band of thunderstorms east and south of the center. Yellow areas indicate rainfall at 1 inch per hour. Cloud data is from Europe's METEO-7 satellite. view more
Credit: NASA/JAXA/NRL/ESA
The final warning was issued on Tropical cyclone Fundi on Sunday, Feb 8 as NASA-JAXA's GPM satellite captured its waning rainfall.
NASA-JAXA's Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) core satellite captured an image of rainfall associated with Tropical Storm Fundi on Feb. 8 at 22:00 UTC (5 p.m. EST) that showed a fragmented band of thunderstorms east and south of the center. There were some areas within those broken bands where GPM measured rainfall occurring at 1 inch (25 mm) per hour.
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center issued their fifth and final warning on Fundi on Feb. 8 at 2100 UTC (4 p.m. EST). At that time, Fundi was centered near 32.8 south and 44.2 east, about 840 nautical miles (966 miles/ 1,556 km) south of Antananarivo, Madagascar and moving south at a speedy 25 knots (28.7mph/46.3 kph). Fundi's maximum sustained winds near 35 knots (40 mpg/62 kph).
Fundi was in an extremely hostile environment where Vertical wind shear was strong, blowing as fast as 40 knots (46 mph/74 kph). The other factor that helped weaken the storm quickly is that Fundi had moved over cool waters near 25 C (77 F) and a tropical cyclone needs 26.6 C (80 F) to survive. Fundi dissipated by February 9 as it moved further south.
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