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;
1999–2000 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season
Toward the beginning of January, the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) remained active across much of the basin, with low pressure and widespread thunderstorms. One such area persisted southeast of Diego Garcia and organized sufficiently to be classified as a tropical disturbance on January 3. That day, the JTWC issued the first of three tropical cyclone formation alerts, noting the increase in convection. The system moved to the northeast along the southeastern edge of a ridge near the equator, but turned back to the southwest on January 5. That day, convection increased over the center, after having previously been dislocated due to wind shear. Late on January 5, the JTWC initiated advisories on Tropical Cyclone 02S, and on the next day, the MFR upgraded the system to Tropical Storm Babiola. The storm accelerated to the southwest and continued to intensity. An irregular eye formed on January 8, prompting the MFR to upgrade Babiola to tropical cyclone status. The outflow and the eye became more pronounced after further strengthening, and the cyclone attained peak 10‑minute winds of 155 km/h (100 mph) on January 9. The JTWC, by contrast, estimated peak 1‑minute winds of 165 km/h (105 mph).