Update: 4:16PM SEVERE Tropical Cyclone Gita centre (930hpa) was located about 650 kilometres off Ono-i-Lau and 1000 kilometres of Kadavu at 12pm today.
The special weather bulletin issued at 3:10pm today by the Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre (RSMC) in Nadi says close to its centre, the cyclone is expected to have average winds up to 195km/hr with momentary gusts to 275km/hr.
The average winds close to its centre are expected to increase to 215km/hr with momentary gusts to 295km/hr by 12pm tomorrow.
The cyclone is moving west at about 24km/hr.
On this track, the cyclone centre is expected to be located about 680km East of Ono-i-Lau or about 1045km East-southeast of Kadavu at 12am today.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Gita may bring damaging gale force winds over the Southern Lau group, Kadavu and nearby smaller islands from Tuesday morning.
Destructive winds are likely to begin several hours before the cyclone passes overhead or nearby.
