 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 . The World Meteorological Organization would later label the MFR 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 five named storms and one tropical cyclone – a storm attaining maximum sustained winds of at least 120 km / h ( 75 mph ) - were both below the average of nine and five , respectively . The MFR considered the tropical cyclone year to begin on August 1 and continue to July 31 of the following year . There was an ongoing El Niño by December , and by January , the monsoon was weaker than normal across the region . This caused below normal thunderstorm activity in February . 
