After reaching an initial peak, the cyclone briefly weakened due to an eyewall replacement cycle, by which time the storm turned southwestward toward Madagascar.

Hary re-intensified and attained peak winds of 220 km/h (140 mph) on March 10 just offshore eastern Madagascar, which made it the first very intense tropical cyclone since 2000.

In early March 2002, tropical activity was minimal in the southern Indian Ocean, limited to an area of convection, or thunderstorms, located southwest of Diego Garcia along the monsoon.

[2] Early on March 8, MFR upgraded Hary to tropical cyclone status,[3] and the storm became very compact, with gales extending only 75 km (47 mi) from the center.

[1] While rounding the northwest edge of a ridge, Hary turned to the southwest late on March 8, toward the northeast coast of Madagascar.

[2] The eye rapidly weakened before landfall, possibly due to another replacement cycle, and land interaction further deteriorated the storm.

By late on March 10, MFR downgraded Hary to tropical cyclone status,[1] with winds of 160 km/h (99 mph),[3] about 50 km (31 mi) east of Île Sainte-Marie.

[1] Early on March 12, Hary passed about 350 km (220 mi) west of the French island of Réunion, when the JTWC estimated its 1-minute winds were about 185 km/h (115 mph).

[2] Later that day, the combination of increasing wind shear and cooler waters weakened the cyclone, resulting in the cloud structure to deteriorate.

The remnants of Hary re-intensified on March 17 while passing about 250 km (160 mi) southwest of Île Amsterdam in the south-central Indian Ocean.

[5] The following day, the storm clipped the eastern portion of the province as a Very Intense Tropical Cyclone, with maximum winds estimated at 220 km/h (140 mph).

[1] Although the center of Cyclone Hary passed well to the west of Réunion, heavy rains associated with the storm caused significant flooding on the island.

[10] The cyclone began affecting the island when it was located over Madagascar, after the large circulation spread humid air to the area and produced heavy rainfall through orographic lift.