It lasted for 29 days while traversing the southern Indian Ocean, making the strongest landfall in decades along eastern Madagascar in late February.

Eline, the longest lasting storm of the season, struck Mozambique while the country was experiencing its worst flooding in 50 years, collectively causing around 700 deaths and about $500 million in damage.

Just two weeks after Eline struck Madagascar, Tropical Storm Gloria affected the same general region, bringing additional deaths and damage.

[6] While moving to the south, the thunderstorms organized more,[3] aided by low wind shear, good outflow, warm waters, and its position beneath an anticyclone.

[6] On December 27, the JTWC upgraded Astride to the equivalent of a minimal hurricane due to the appearance of an eye feature, estimating 1‑minute winds of 120 km/h (75 mph).

Curving back to the west, Astride struck northeastern Madagascar between Vohemar and Antsiranana on December 31 as a minimal tropical storm.

Early the next day, Astride weakened back to tropical depression status before moving ashore eastern Mozambique near Pemba, dissipating soon after.

When Astride passed just south of Mayotte, it brought gusts to 76 km/h (47 mph), strong enough to knock over some banana trees and to destroy a stone house.

[3] Toward the beginning of January, the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) remained active across much of the basin, with low pressure and widespread thunderstorms.

Increased shear weakened the storm as it curved southwestward, and late on January 29 Connie passed about 130 km (81 mi) northwest of Réunion.

[3][8] While passing northwest of Mauritius, the outer fringes of Connie brought heavy rains peaking at 647 mm (25.5 in) over the span of six days, or equivalent to a month's worth of precipitation.

[13] Increased wind shear removed the convection on February 2, causing marked weakening,[3] and prompting the JTWC to discontinue advisories that day.

Late on February 17, Eline made landfall near Mahanoro with 10‑minute winds of 165 km/h (103 mph), making it the strongest storm to hit the country in several decades.

On February 22, Eline made landfall about 80 km (50 mi) south of Beira, Mozambique near peak intensity and quickly weakened over land.

[31] Elsewhere in southern Africa, Eline brought strong winds and heavy rainfall when it crossed into eastern Zimbabwe, due to maintaining a well-defined structure.

In the latter country, Eline dropped 503 mm (19.8 in) of rainfall in Levubu over three days, causing the Limpopo River to reach its highest level in 15 years.

[36] To the north, Eline dropped about 90 mm (3.5 in) of rainfall in southern Malawi, while gusty winds caused a power outage in Blantyre.

[38] It moved southeastward with increasing convection, prompting the Mauritius Meteorological Service to name it Felicia while still as a tropical depression on February 20.

[13] Late on February 22, the JTWC upgraded the storm to the equivalent of a minimal hurricane, while the MFR estimated peak 10‑minute winds of 110 km/h (68 mph).

[3] On February 27, a circulation formed within the monsoon trough between Diego Garcia and St. Brandon, displaced due to wind shear,[3] but organized enough for the MFR to track it as Tropical Disturbance 8.

[3] The thunderstorms organized into a central dense overcast on March 1, prompting the MFR to upgrade it to Moderate Tropical Storm Gloria only 150 km (93 mi) from the northeast coast of Madagascar.

Gloria continued quickly to the southwest, gradually intensifying and developing an eye feature; on that basis, the MFR estimated peak 10‑minute winds of 95 km/h (59 mph), or severe tropical storm status, by the time it made landfall 10 km (6.2 mi) north of Sambava.

[3] Operationally, the JTWC upgraded Gloria to the equivalent of a minimal hurricane, with 1‑minute winds of 120 km/h (75 mph),[40] although the agency downgraded the storm to the same peak as the MFR.

[3] In Sambava, near where Gloria moved ashore, the storm killed 18 people,[3] destroyed hundreds of homes, and damaged a road connecting the area to the capital of Madagascar, Antananarivo.

[41] A tropical low formed in the Australian basin on March 24, moving westward due to a strong subtropical ridge to the south.

[3] On April 9, the depression turned northwestward toward Mozambique as thunderstorms increased,[43] aided by a decrease in wind shear through a shift in the jet stream.

[43] Due to the small radius of maximum winds, the coastline was spared from strong gusts,[3] although the system dropped 93.8 mm (3.69 in) of rainfall in Inhambane over 48 hours.

[3] The MFR estimated peak 10‑minute winds of 95 km/h (59 mph) on April 12,[50] noting that the system should have been named, but also that its "structure has had no recent analogue in [the basin].

After slowing down and encountering a more favorable environment, the system intensified into Moderate Tropical Storm Innocente on April 17,[3] reaching peak 10‑minute winds of 70 km/h (43 mph).

[51] Operationally, the MFR upgraded Innocente to storm status a day earlier, only to downgrade and re-upgrade;[43] it was maintained as a depression during this time.