 During the season, the Météo-France office (MFR) on Réunion island issued warnings in tropical cyclones within the basin. Using satellite imagery from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the agency estimated intensity through the Dvorak technique, and warned on tropical cyclones in the region from the coast of Africa to 90°E, south of the equator. At the time, the World Meteorological Organization recognized the MFR as a Regional Tropical Cyclone Advisory Centre, and would later label the agency as a Regional Specialized Meteorological Center in 1993. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), which is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force task force, also issued tropical cyclone warnings for the southwestern Indian Ocean. The season's 11 named storms is slightly above the long term average, while the five tropical cyclones – a storm attaining maximum sustained winds of at least 120 km / h (75 mph) – was the same as the long term average. There was an ongoing La Niña event in the middle of the season. The MFR considered the tropical cyclone year to begin on August 1 and continue to July 31 of the following year.
