The cyclone gradually weakened over the next several days due to an increase in forward speed and a decrease in sea surface temperatures.

[1] At 0300 UTC on 4 February, the JTWC issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert for the system as deep convection and outer bands developed around the center.

[3] Shortly after, Météo-France began issuing advisories on Tropical Disturbance 10 while it was located about 1,020 km (630 mi) east-southeast of Diego Garcia.

A buoy located just to the south of the small circulation recording decreasing atmospheric pressure, having lowered by 4 hPa (mbar) in the past 24 hours.

[6] However, in the post-season analysis, Météo-France determined that the system had become a depression about 12 hours earlier and was already a moderate tropical storm by the time of the operation upgrade.

[9] After maintaining its through the early hours of 6 February,[1] a pinhole eye began to develop, signifying that Hondo was beginning to undergo rapid intensification.

[1] After becoming an intense tropical cyclone, wind shear began to increase, causing the eye to become slightly disorganized, temporarily slowed the intensification.

[15] Shortly after reaching peak intensity, the cloud tops around the eye began to warm, meaning that the storm was beginning to weaken.

[16] The storm continued to weaken as cloud tops warmed but remained an intense tropical cyclone as its eye was still well-defined.

[19] Hondo gradually began to weaken due to a combination of decreasing sea surface temperatures and increasing forward motion.

[8] On 10 February, Hondo started a gradual curving path due to a trough located to the south and strengthening high-pressure systems to the north.

On 20 February, about 2,780 km (1,730 mi) northeast of where the final advisories were issued,[8] the low began to develop weak convection around the northern edge of the center of circulation.

[30] The next day, Hondo was downgraded to a tropical disturbance as wind shear constrained convective development and caused the system to weaken.

[40] On 23 February, ex-Hondo tracked just offshore Mauritius before passing directly over Réunion, just short of moderate tropical storm status.