Mauritius Severe Weather Info

Scattered showers are expected mainly over elevated areas and the eastern districts in the afternoon and evening today 30 May 2026 as shown in the satellite pictures.
Refer to official forecasts from local authorities.
Credit: CIMSS, SSEC

Precipitation Outlook for the Mascarene islands: Below normal rainfall is expected for the first half of June 2026 as shown in the animation. Brown and yellow colors on the scale represent negative precipitation anomalies. The forecasted dry spell may be due to anticyclones, which often lead to stable atmospheric conditions with sinking air that suppresses cloud formation and rainfall, among other factors.
Slightly wetter conditions are expected for late June 2026. Green and blue colors on the scale indicate positive precipitation anomalies, meaning above-average rainfall.
Stay tuned for updates!
Credit: tropicaltidbits.com

Historical cyclones: Cyclone season 1959-1960 was a turning point in the history of Mauritius due to extensive infrastructural damage and societal impacts caused by cyclones Alix and Carol.
(1) Alix (11-22 Jan 1960) initially developed far North-East of Mauritius over very warm tropical waters, tracked westward / west-southwestward. This movement was probably steered by a subtropical ridge (Mascarene High) located to the south of the system, eventually recurved south (due to a weakness in the subtropical ridge) and finally accelerated southeastward. This is a common steering mechanism for tropical cyclones for the south west Indian Ocean. Alix is the first named storm of the basin and gusts of the order of 200 km/h were recorded and the number of deaths amounted to eight.
(2) Carol developed in late February 1960 (20 Feb-02 Mar) North-East of Mauritius and intensified rapidly while moving west-south-westward. The cyclone passed directly over Mauritius on 27–28 February 1960 and is regarded as one of the most violent cyclones ever to strike the island. Carol caused catastrophic destruction across Mauritius. Historical reports indicate: around 40 deaths, hundreds seriously injured, more than 68,000 homeless.
Refer to the animation for cyclone Alix and Carol.
The resilience of our elders for the reconstruction of the buildings after the aftermath is truly exemplary.
Credit: IBTRACS, Wikipedia, MSWI team.

The animation shows the distribution of earthquakes (not intensity based) from November 2025 to April 2026. Notice the proximity of earthquakes in the vicinity of Rodrigues island during January 2026.
Special credit goes to the team of MSWI for the generation of these maps. Source data: USGS

The animation shows the forecast anomaly of Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR) and rain forecast anomaly for 18–24 May 2026 over Africa and the southwest Indian Ocean, including the Mascarene region. OLR measures the amount of infrared energy escaping from Earth to space, that is amount of cloudiness. Slightly to moderately negative OLR anomaly is expected for the south west Indian ocean. This means more cloudiness over our region. Mauritius lies in the neutral region for the rain forecast anomaly for the same period.
Credit: Bureau of Meteorology, Australia.