Mauritius before an approaching trough turned it to the southeast. Despite the storm's proximity to the island, effects there were modest, marked by winds of and of rain. The cyclone began weakening due to increased wind shear, and deteriorated below tropical cyclone status on February 21. A strengthening ridge turned Guillame toward the northwest, and the storm dissipated on February 23. Very Intense Tropical Cyclone Hary Cyclone Hary was the strongest tropical cyclone of the season. Developing on March 5 from the monsoon trough, the storm initially moved generally to the west and gradually intensified. With favorable conditions, Hary quickly intensified on March 7, developing an eye and well-defined outflow. After reaching an initial peak, the cyclone briefly weakened due to an eyewall replacement cycle, by which time the storm turned southwestward toward Madagascar. Hary re-intensified and attained peak winds of 220 km/h (140 mph) on March 10 just offshore of eastern Madagascar, which made it the first very intense tropical cyclone since 2000. After peaking, Hary weakened due to land interaction, and it struck Madagascar southeast of Antalaha. After turning south over land, Cyclone Hary quickly moved offshore. There were three deaths in the country, one of which was from electrocution. There was locally heavy crop damage, and four bridges were destroyed. However, the damage was considered minimal, given the intensity of the storm. After affecting Madagascar, Hary accelerated to the southeast, and the eastern periphery of the circulation moved over Réunion. On the mountain peaks of the island, rainfall reached , although it was much less near the coast. The rainfall caused flooding, killing one person, and 20,000 people were left without power. Hary became extratropical on March 13, although its remnants continued for several days as a powerful mid-latitude storm. Intense Tropical Cyclone Ikala On March 21, a tropical disturbance quickly developed in the monsoon trough in the south-central Indian Ocean, about 1250 km (775 mi) east of Diego Garcia. A ridge to the south steered the system to the west-southwest, and moderate wind shear in the region prevented significant strengthening. The convection slowly organized, and the depression intensified into Tropical Storm Ikala early on March 25. By that time, the shear had decreased, although initially it was strong enough to prevent the convection from covering the center. An approaching cold front turned the storm to the southeast on March 25, where upper-level conditions became more favorable