1999–2000 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season
The same monsoon trough that spawned Connie also produced an area of convection southeast of Diego Garcia on January 28. The circulation slowly organized, and the MFR classified it as a tropical disturbance on January 30. A nearby trough steered the system southeastward initially and later to the southwest. On January 31, the system became a tropical depression, and later Moderate Tropical Storm Damienne the next day, reaching peak winds of 65 km/h (40 mph). Also on February 1, the JTWC initiated warnings on Tropical Cyclone 10S, which estimated 1‑minute winds of 95 km/h (60 mph). Increased wind shear removed the convection on February 2, causing marked weakening, and prompting the JTWC to discontinue advisories that day. This was despite forecasts of strengthening to near tropical cyclone status. As a weak tropical disturbance, Damienne turned to a rapid westward motion, passing north of Rodrigues and Tromelin. The circulation dissipated on February 7 off the northeast coast of Madagascar.
On February 1, a low-pressure area formed within the monsoon trough to the south of Indonesia, which would eventually become Tropical Cyclone Leon in the Australian basin, as well as Tropical Cyclone 11S according to JTWC. The storm tracked westward across much of the Indian Ocean, fluctuating in strength due to changes in the atmosphere. After crossing 90° E, the MFR began tracking the system as Tropical Storm Eline on February 8. The storm continued westward across the Indian Ocean and intensified greatly as it approached the east coast of Madagascar. Late on February 17, Eline made landfall near Mahanoro with 10‑minute winds of 165 km/h (105 mph), making it the strongest storm to hit the country in several decades. The storm rapidly weakened over land, but restrengthened in the Mozambique Channel to reach peak 10‑minute winds of 185 km/h (115 mph). On February 22, Eline made landfall about 80 km (50 mi) south of Beira, Mozambique near peak intensity and quickly weakened over land. The well-defined circulation moved across southern African, finally dissipating over eastern Namibia on February 29. Throughout its duration, Leon–Eline lasted 29 days, a record longevity for a storm in the south-west Indian Ocean. The track was over 11,000 km (6,800 mi), or about 25% of the Earth's circumference.
1996–97 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season
A tropical disturbance developed in late November, and two disturbances formed in the first few weeks of January. In the duration between when Iletta developed on January 23 and when Tropical Cyclone Josie formed on February 9, another two tropical disturbances formed, and the final two developed after Lisette originated in late February. The first, Tropical Disturbance M1, formed on May 11 in the northeastern portion of the basin, and later crossed into the Australian region to intensify into Tropical Cyclone Rhonda. The final disturbance of the season originated from a persistent area of convection near the equator on July 19, northeast of Diego Garcia. With warm enough water temperatures, the system developed further, becoming Tropical Depression M2 on July 20, the first July depression since 1971. That day, the JTWC classified the storm as Tropical Cyclone 01S. As the JTWC considers the tropical cyclone year to begin on July 1, and the MFR considered it beginning on August 1 at the time, the storm was in different cyclone years in different agencies. Estimates from the Dvorak technique suggested that the system approached tropical storm status on July 21 after a central dense overcast formed, although the MFR only estimated peak 10–minute winds of 55 km/h (35 mph). Moving southwestward and later to the west, the depression began weakening due to wind shear on July 23, and dissipated two days later. At the time, July was within the annual tropical cyclone year, although a change in policy shifted the end of the tropical cyclone year to June 30, beginning in 2002.