 The Joint Typhoon Warning Center designated it a tropical cyclone, the 23rd in the Southern Hemisphere for the season, later that day, as deep convective banding began to develop.Continuing to move generally southeast, Cliff peaked in intensity on April 5 before starting to weaken as it crossed into the area of responsibility of TCWC Wellington.Late that night, Cliff started to show signs of extratropical transition, causing Dvorak satellite intensity estimates to fall.