Dikeledi was a tropical cyclone in the Indian Ocean late Friday Eastern Africa Time, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center said in its latest advisory. The tropical cyclone had sustained wind speeds of 52 miles per hour. Where will it rain? Flash flooding can occur well inland and away from the storm’s center. Even weaker storms can produce excessive rainfall that can flood low-lying areas.Only about a quarter of the Earth’s tropical cyclones form in the Southern Hemisphere. When these storms have sustained winds of 74 m.p.h. or greater, they would be called hurricanes in the Atlantic, but here, they are called cyclones. The only other difference is that, in the Southern Hemisphere, cyclones spin clockwise (hurricanes spin counterclockwise). Cyclones can strike eastern Africa, primarily Madagascar, as well as the western, northern and eastern coasts of Australia and surrounding island nations. The season here runs opposite the rest of the world, typically beginning in late October and running through May. Peaks in activity vary depending on the region, but normally, activity is highest in late February and early March.
