page_title: South-West Indian Ocean tropical cyclone
section_title: Climatology
hierarchical_section_title: South-West Indian Ocean tropical cyclone / Climatology
context_page_description: In the south-west Indian Ocean, tropical cyclones form south of the equator and west of 90° E to the coast of Africa.
context_section_description: Generally, the monsoon does not cross into the Mozambique Channel until December; as a result, storms rarely form there before that time. From 1948 to 2010, 94 tropical systems developed in the small body of water, of which about half made landfall. Occasionally, small storms form in the Mozambique Channel that resemble Mediterranean tropical cyclones or storms in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean; these systems are well-organized but have weaker convection than typical tropical cyclones, and originate over cooler than normal water temperatures of less than 26 °C (79 °F). A survey in 2004 conducted by weather expert Gary Padgett found meteorologists split whether these storms should be classified as tropical or subtropical.
  In an average year, ten tropical depressions or storms strike Madagascar, and most generally do not cause much damage. Occasionally, storms or their remnants enter the interior of southeastern Africa, bringing heavy rainfall to Zimbabwe.
caption: Tracks of storms in the basin from 1980 to 2005
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