 A tropical depression formed northwest of Reunion on February 24 , which moved generally eastward . The next day , the depression passed north of Reunion and Mauritius and south of St. Brandon , before turning to the northeast . The system was located near another tropical depression to the northeast , and both vortexes were tracked for several days . On February 26 , the JTWC began issuing advisories on Tropical Cyclone 24 , although the agency estimated the system was located farther to the north , closer to where the other tropical depression was . The JTWC assessed tropical storm intensity on February 27 , noting the system was moving generally southeastward , although the MFR tracked the depression as executing a loop before turning to the southeast . On February 29 , the MFR estimated peak 10 ‑ minute sustained winds of 65 km / h ( 40 mph ) , upgrading it to Tropical Storm Gerda . At the same time , the JTWC had downgraded Gerda to a tropical depression . The system turned to the southwest , executing another large loop before resuming its southwest trajectory on March 1 . That day , Gerda weakened to a tropical depression , before executing a third loop to the northeast and later to the southeast , passing between Mauritius and Rodrigues . On March 4 , Gerda dissipated , having produced gusts to 100 km / h ( 62 mph ) on Rodrigues . 
