Bondo Back at Cat 4

Cyclone Bondo has, for me, underscored just how far hurricane intensity prediction still has to go. It almost seems as though every time this storm is predicted to weaken it intensifies, and every time it's predicted to intensify it weakens.

Most recently, Bondo has jumped back up to 115 knots, or Category 4 strength, even as the storm's powerful left front quadrant (that's the dangerous quadrant in the Southern Hemisphere) rakes Madagascar's northwestern coast. I don't know much about Madagascar beyond the fact that it has lemurs. But it looks like the city of Antsiranana is getting it quite directly right now. And as this is a Category 4 storm, albeit one whose eye is remaining offshore, that could be pretty bad.