Within the South-West Indian Ocean, the term severe tropical storms is reserved for those systems, that have winds of at least 50 knots (95 km/h; 60 mph).
It is the third-highest classification used within the South-West Indian Ocean to classify tropical cyclones with.
The South-West Indian Ocean tropical cyclone basin is located to the south of the Equator between Africa and 90°E.
[1] The basin is officially monitored by Météo-France who run the Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre in La Réunion, while other meteorological services such as the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Mauritius Meteorological Service as well as the United States Joint Typhoon Warning Center also monitor the basin.
[1] Within the basin a severe tropical storm is a tropical storm that has 10-minute maximum sustained wind speeds between 48–63 kn (89–117 km/h; 55–72 mph).