What was the first storm to develop in the 1999–2000 South-West Indian Ocean tropical cyclone season?
1999–2000 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season
Leon–Eline
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 120km/h (75mph).[1] The most notable storm of the season was Eline, which was the longest-lasting storm on record in the basin. It lasted for 29days 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 316people. The season started on November1, 1999, and ended for most of the basin on April30, 2000; for Mauritius and the Seychelles, the season continued until May15. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the basin;[2]