 In the middle of February , an area of convection , or thunderstorms , persisted in the Mozambique channel . It had an associated circulation and rainbands to the east of the center , and was related to the monsoon trough . The system was located within an area of warm sea surface temperatures of over 29 ° C ( 84 ° F ) and steadily decreasing wind shear . A ridge to the south caused the system to initially track to the north . By February 16 , the system had moved over Mozambique and turned to the east , although by that time it had become better organized with the convection wrapping into the center . Subsequently , the system moved southward due to a weakness in the ridge , with conditions favorable for tropical cyclogenesis such as low wind shear and good divergence . On February 18 , the Joint Typhoon Warning Center ( JTWC ) issued a tropical cyclone formation alert , and at 1200 UTC that day , Météo @-@ France ( MFR ) initiated advisories on Tropical Disturbance 09 . 
