In its advisories, the MFR noted a "spectacular intensification spell" in the hours leading up to Belna's landfall on Madagascar, assessing the cyclone's winds at 155 km/h (100 mph) and the pressure at 955 mbar (hPa; 28.35 inHg)–the lowest analysed over the course of the storm's existence—as Belna moved ashore at 15:30 UTC on 9 December.