1975–76 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season explained

Basin:	SWI
Year:	1976
Track:	1975-1976 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season summary.jpg
First Storm Formed:	17 November 1975
Last Storm Dissipated:	12 April 1976
Strongest Storm Name:	Terry-Danae
Strongest Storm Pressure:	964
Strongest Storm Winds:	95
Average Wind Speed:	10
Total Disturbances:	8
Total Depressions:	6 (record low, tied with 2010–11)
Total Storms:	6
Total Hurricanes:	1
Total Intense:	1
Five Seasons:	1973–74, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1977–78
Australian Season:	1975–76 Australian region cyclone season
South Pacific Season:	1975–76 South Pacific cyclone season

The 1975–76 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season was a below-average cyclone season. The season officially ran from November 1, 1975, to April 30, 1976.

Systems

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BarData = barset:Hurricane bar:Month

PlotData= barset:Hurricane width:11 align:left fontsize:S shift:(4,-4) anchor:till from:17/11/1975 till:29/11/1975 color:TS text:"Audrey (MTS)" from:03/12/1975 till:19/12/1975 color:TC text:"Barbara (TC)" from:07/01/1976 till:21/01/1976 color:VI text:"Clotilde (VITC)" from:10/01/1976 till:29/01/1976 color:VI text:"Terry–Danae (VITC)" from:09/03/1976 till:12/03/1976 color:TS text:"Ella (MTS)" from:25/03/1976 till:26/03/1976 color:TS text:"Frederique (MTS)" from:27/03/1976 till:10/04/1976 color:TS text:"Gladys (MTS)" from:03/04/1976 till:12/04/1976 color:TS text:"Bert–Heliotropee (MTS)" from:03/05/1976 till:09/05/1976 color:TS text:"Carol (MTS)" barset:break

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Moderate Tropical Storm Audrey

Basin:	SWI
Formed:	November 17
Dissipated:	November 29
10-Min Winds:	45
1-Min Winds:	50
Pressure:	995

Moderate Tropical Storm Audrey developed on November 17. Audrey struck Madagascar shortly before dissipating on November 29.

Tropical Cyclone Barbara

Basin:	SWI
Formed:	December 3
Dissipated:	December 19
10-Min Winds:	80
1-Min Winds:	70
Pressure:	980

Severe Tropical Storm Barbara developed on December 3. It made landfall in Madagascar twice before dissipating on December 19.

Very Intense Tropical Cyclone Clotilde

Basin:	SWI
Formed:	January 7
Dissipated:	January 21
10-Min Winds:	135
1-Min Winds:	65
Pressure:	980

Very Intense Tropical Cyclone Clotilde developed on January 7. It struck Madagascar and continued southeastward in the Indian Ocean before dissipating on January 21.

Very Intense Tropical Cyclone Terry–Danae

Basin:	SWI
Track:	Terry-Danae 1976 track.png
Formed:	January 10
Dissipated:	January 29
10-Min Winds:	140
1-Min Winds:	100
Pressure:	955

Cyclone Danae first affected Agaléga, where the storm destroyed the wind gauge. Winds were estimated at over 240km/h. The storm also produced high waves that affected the northern coast of Réunion, flooding coastal roads.^[1] Cyclone Danae later struck Madagascar and then hit the east coast of Mozambique and South Africa in late January 1976. 50 people were killed in the flooding that resulted from the heavy rainfall of Cyclone Danae.^[2]

In South Africa, rainfall totals reached over 250mm in the northeastern portion of the country, which caused widespread river flooding.^[3]

Moderate Tropical Storm Ella

Basin:	SWI
Formed:	March 9
Dissipated:	March 12
10-Min Winds:	40
1-Min Winds:	30
Pressure:	995

Moderate Tropical Storm Ella developed on March 9. It struck Mozambique shortly before dissipating on March 12.

Moderate Tropical Storm Frederique

Basin:	SWI
Formed:	March 25
Dissipated:	March 26
10-Min Winds:	40
1-Min Winds:	30
Pressure:	1005

Tropical Disturbance Frederique existed from March 25 to March 26. It formed shortly before dissipating.

Moderate Tropical Storm Gladys

Basin:	SWI
Formed:	March 27
Dissipated:	April 10
Track:	Gladys 1976 track.png
Pressure:	998
10-Min Winds:	45

Moderate Tropical Storm Gladys developed on March 27. It struck Madagascar and later Mozambique. Gladys then moved erratically in the Mozambique Channel before dissipating on April 10.

Moderate Tropical Storm Bert–Heliotrope

Basin:	SWI
Track:	Bert-Heliotrope 1976 track.png
Formed:	April 3
Dissipated:	April 12
Pressure:	1000
10-Min Winds:	45

Moderate Tropical Storm Bert–Heliotrope existed from April 3 to April 12. It caused no damage or casualties and did not make landfall.

Season effects

|-| Audrey || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#|45kn || bgcolor=#|995hPa || None || || ||^[4] |-| Barbara || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#|95kn || bgcolor=#|980hPa || None || || ||^[4] |-| Clotilde || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#|135kn || bgcolor=#|980hPa || None || || ||^[4] |-| Terry–Danae || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#|140kn || bgcolor=#|955hPa || None || || ||^[4] |-| Elsa || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#|45kn || bgcolor=#|995hPa || None || || ||^[4] |-| Frederique || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#|40kn || bgcolor=#|1005hPa || None || || ||^[4] |-| Gladys || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#|45kn || bgcolor=#|998hPa || None || || ||^[4] |-| Bert–Heliotrope || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#|45kn || bgcolor=#|1000hPa || None || || ||^[4] |-| Carol || || bgcolor=#| || bgcolor=#|45kn || bgcolor=#|992hPa || None || || ||^[5] |-

Notes and References

Global tropical/extratropical cyclone climatic atlas. [{{GTECCA url|basin=SWI|year=1976_2}} Hurricane Danae, 11-27 January]. 1996. National Climatic Data Center. February 7, 2019.
Web site: WeatherSA Home: Johannesburg . 2019-02-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20091001020716/http://www.weathersa.co.za/Pressroom/2000/2000Feb4to14HeavyRain%26Floods.jsp . 2009-10-01 . dead .
Documentation of the 1984 Domoina Floods. Department of Water Affairs (South Africa). Z.P. Kovács. D.B. Du Plessis. P.R. Bracher. P. Dunn. G.C.L. Mallory. May 1985. 2013-07-23. https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054547/http://www.dwaf.gov.za/iwqs/reports/tr/TR_122_1984_Domoina_floods.pdf. 2013-09-21. dead.
1975-1976 Tropical disturbance season in the southwestern Indian Ocean. Météorologie Maritime. fr. 1977. 95. 44–48. 0222-5123. Saison 1975-1976 des perturbations tropicales dans l'océan indien du sud-ouest.
Web site: [{{IBTRACS url|id=1976124S07092}} 1976 Moderate Tropical Storm Carol (1976124S07092)]. International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship. May 8, 2022.