page_title: 1995–96 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season
section_title: Seasonal summary
hierarchical_section_title: 1995–96 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season / Seasonal summary
caption_attribution_description: English: A visible satellite image of Tropical Depression B2 of the w:1995-96 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season.
context_page_description: The 1995–96 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season was a moderately active season that included Cyclone Bonita, which was the first known tropical cyclone to cross from the southern Indian Ocean into the southern Atlantic Ocean. Tropical activity lasted for about six months from the middle of November 1995 to early May 1996. The first storm, Intense Tropical Cyclone Agnielle, formed in the adjacent Australian basin on November 16 and later reached peak winds in the south-west Indian Ocean. The next named storm after Agnielle was Bonita, which formed in early January and killed 42 people. The basin was most active in February, with two tropical cyclones, or the equivalent of a minimal hurricane, as well as a severe tropical storm. The first of these three was Doloresse, which killed 67 people due to a shipwreck in the Comoros. The next storm was Cyclone Edwige, which caused heavy crop damage on Mauritius before looping along the east coast of Madagascar. In March, both Cyclone Flossy and Tropical Storm Guylianne passed near the Mascarene Islands, producing heavy rainfall and gusty winds.
context_section_description: During the season, the Météo-France office (MFR) on Réunion island issued warnings in tropical cyclones within the basin. 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. 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 was fairly active with ten tropical storms, one greater than average, although most storms were short-lived. Six of the storms reached tropical cyclone status, or maximum sustained winds of at least 120 km/h (75 mph), which is two more than average. Most cyclones dissipated within the tropics, in contrast to the norm of storms accelerating into higher latitudes. Throughout the season there were 82 days in which there was tropical activity. Based on a list contributed by the nation of Seychelles, the storms were named in sequential order, starting with Agnielle. The rest of the names on the list were Ketty, Lucia, Molly, Nadege, Odette, Paquerette, Rolina, Sylvianne, Talla, Vivienne, Walya, and Yoline.
  In addition to the named storms, the MFR tracked 11 tropical depressions or disturbances that did not intensify into a tropical storm. The agency did not issue any bulletins on eight of them. Of the remaining three, two formed in late December, and the other formed in mid-February. Tropical Depression B2, the longest-lasting of the depressions, formed after a month of activity. An area of convection developed in the Mozambique Channel, and the MFR believed it to be connected to the depression that formed on December 28 east of Madagascar. With a ridge to the east, the system tracked southward, but failed to intensify due to strong wind shear. While passing west of Réunion, the depression dropped heavy rainfall, totaling 350 mm (14 in) along the northern coast and about twice that amount in the mountainous interior. On December 31, the depression dissipated to the southwest of Réunion. On February 10, the JTWC tracked Tropical Cyclone 12S into the basin as a weakening tropical depression, which quickly dissipated. A few days later, the JTWC also tracked Tropical Cyclone 15S from February 14–17, which briefly intensified into a minimal tropical storm in the eastern portion of the basin.
caption: Satellite image of Tropical Depression B2
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