A building ridge to the south turned the system northeastward on February 10 and later to the northwest, bringing it back over southwestern Madagascar. On February 11, the circulation again reentered the Mozambique Channel, and subsequently the thunderstorms rebuilt over the poorly defined center. A trough behind the ridge allowed the system to turn to the southwest and later southeast. An increase in convection on February 15 organized into a curved band, and MFR upgraded the system to Tropical Storm Beltane on the next day off the west coast of Madagascar. The JTWC also classified the system as Tropical Cyclone 23S on February 16, possibly due to the extended duration between issuing advisories. Strong wind shear stripped the convection from the center as Beltane approached southwestern Madagascar on February 17. Another building ridge turned the weakened depression to the northwest across the Mozambique Channel, finally dissipating on February 20 near the mouth of the Zambezi. The remnants later moved across Mozambique accompanied by locally heavy rainfall.