Tropical Cyclone Gita Cat 4 update 4 Feb 12 10:12AEST minus 2 WA time HD

TROPICAL CYCLONE 09P (GITA), LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 180 NM SOUTH- SOUTHWEST OF NIUE, HAS TRACKED WEST-SOUTHWESTWARD AT 12 KNOTS OVER THE PAST SIX HOURS. ANIMATED ENHANCED INFRARED SATELLITE IMAGERY DEPICTS A SMALL PERSISTENT EYE FEATURE SURROUNDED BY DEEP CONVECTION THAT IS OCCLUDING A LOW LEVEL CIRCULATION CENTER. THE INITIAL POSITION IS PLACED WITH FAIR CONFIDENCE BASED ON THE EYE FEATURE AND IS SUPPORTED BY AN 111801Z 91GHZ SSMIS. THE AFOREMENTIONED MICROWAVE IMAGE SHOWS A CLEARLY DEFINED 15NM WIDE MICROWAVE EYE WITH DEEP CONVECTION IN THE NORTHERN SEMI-CIRCLE.