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;
2003–04 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season
The same westerly wind burst that spawned a cyclonic storm in the Arabian Sea also produced Cyclone Beni. On November 7, an area of sprawling convection developed northeast of Diego Garcia. This system consolidated and organized, aided by decreasing wind shear, warm waters, and good outflow. On November 9, the MFR classified the system as a tropical disturbance, and the JTWC designated it as Tropical Cyclone 02S. Two days later, the MFR upgraded it to Moderate Tropical Storm Beni. Moving around a ridge, the storm trekked southwestward before turning to the southeast on November 12, steered by an approaching trough. That day, Beni intensified into the first tropical cyclone of the year. Its outflow was enhanced by the trough, and a well-defined eye became established within the convection. On November 13, the MFR upgraded Beni to an intense tropical cyclone, estimating peak 10 minute winds of 175 km/h (110 mph); at the time, it was the third earliest in the season that a storm reached that intensity. The JTWC estimated slightly higher 1 minute winds of 185 km/h (115 mph).