 The ITCZ produced an area of convection north of the Mascarene Islands on February 5 , organizing into a tropical disturbance that day about 590 km ( 365 mi ) northeast of Rodrigues . The system initially consisted spiral rainbands around an organizing center . Moving quickly to the southwest , the disturbance passed west of Rodrigues on February 6 , producing wind gusts of 117 km / h ( 72 mph ) likely due to a localized vortex . Despite only being a disturbance , the Mauritius Meteorology Service named the system Bemezava on February 6 . On the next day , the depression turned sharply to the east due to a nearby ridge , passing 350 km ( 215 mi ) southeast of Mauritius . Bemezava intensified into a moderate tropical storm on February 8 , attaining peak 10 minute winds of 65 km / h ( 40 mph ) . It turned back to the northeast and weakened , tracked only by satellite imagery as a weak circulation . Bemezava looped to the west beginning on February 10 , turning to the southeast and back to the west . It dissipated on February 17 about 200 km ( 125 mi ) southeast of Rodrigues , or about 680 km ( 425 mi ) south of where it first formed . Bemezava was not tracked by the JTWC . 
