1999–2000 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season
The 1999–2000 South-West Indian Ocean tropical cyclone season was the first on record in which two storms – Leon–Eline and Hudah – struck Mozambique at tropical cyclone intensity, or with maximum sustained winds of at least 120 km/h (75 mph). The most notable storm of the season was Eline, which was the longest-lasting storm on record in the basin. It lasted for 29 days while traversing the southern Indian Ocean, making the strongest landfall in decades along eastern Madagascar in late February. The storm was the first in a series of three storms that struck the country in early 2000, along with Gloria in March and Hudah in April. Collectively, the three storms killed at least 316 people. The season started on November 1, 1999, and ended for most of the basin on April 30, 2000; for Mauritius and the Seychelles, the season continued until May 15. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the basin;
1998–99 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season
On April 17, an area of convection persisted near the border of the south-west Indian and the Australian regions. The system moved eastward into the Australian basin, becoming a tropical disturbance on April 19. Turning to the southeast, the system gradually organized as the convection persisted. On April 20, the disturbance intensified into a tropical storm and was named Hamish. Shortly thereafter, the ridge to the south turned the storm to the southwest. After the BoM estimated peak winds of 100 km/h (65 mph), Hamish began quickly weakening due to increasing wind shear. On April 21, the storm crossed into the south-west Indian basin, still maintaining 10-minute winds of 65 km/h (40 mph). Although the Mauritius Meteorological Services should have classified the system as Tropical Storm Francine, the storm remained unnamed, referred as Tropical Storm F1. However, the system weakened to tropical depression status within six hours of entering the basin, and dissipating on April 24. 
At the time, the MFR's cyclone season began on August 1, although the JTWC's cyclone season for the southern hemisphere began on July 1. The latter agency tracked a short-lived tropical storm toward the end of July, classifying it as Tropical Cyclone 01S. The MFR named it Tropical Depression H4, estimating peak 10-minute winds of 55 km/h (35 km/h).