It quickly intensified over the Mozambique Channel due to warm waters and favorable conditions, and the storm attained peak 10 minute sustained winds of 100 km/h (60 mph) on January 16.

That day, Chedza moved ashore western Madagascar between Belo sur Mer and Morondava, and it quickly crossed the island while weakening.

In Madagascar, Chedza struck after weeks of heavy rainfall, causing rivers to increase and flooding widespread areas of crop fields.

[3] A broad circulation formed within the system on January 12 along the coast of Mozambique,[4] aided by good outflow to the south.

Warm sea surface temperatures favored development, although it was located within an area of moderate to high wind shear.

[5] On January 14, the Météo-France (MFR) office on Réunion[nb 2] began monitoring the system, labeling it Zone of Disturbed Weather 6 about 170 km (105 mi) east-southeast of Pebane, Mozambique.

[12] At the same time, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC)[nb 3] began tracking the system as Tropical Cyclone 05S.

[17] Before 18:00 UTC on January 16, Chedza moved ashore in western Madagascar between Belo sur Mer and Morondava, and it quickly weakened to tropical depression status over land.

[21] By contrast, the JTWC ceased issuing advisories on January 18, noting that the storm was dissipating due to increased wind shear.

[23] On January 19, the convection became far removed from the center as wind shear increased, and Chedza transitioned into a post-tropical cyclone as it began becoming extratropical.

[26] In its formative stages, Chedza moved over Mozambique on January 14,[4][27] producing flooding in the country as well as neighboring Malawi and Zimbabwe.

[28] In Malawi, the formative stages of Chedza brought heavy rainfall that caused deadly floods,[27] following two weeks of precipitation.

During the storm's passage to the southwest, Chedza produced peak wind gusts of 90 km/h (56 mph) at Gîte de Bellecombe.

[3] Malawi president Peter Mutharika declared 15 of the country's 28 districts as disaster areas, mainly in the southern portion.

[35] The floods displaced "untold numbers of rats", according to the World Health Organization, which potentially contributed to the ongoing plague outbreak.