Upon becoming a tropical cyclone, Eline was still encountering wind shear and dry air. Despite these factors, the eye became better defined and the storm intensified as upper-level conditions improved. The cyclone turned more to the west toward Madagascar, despite a weakness in the ridge to the south. While approaching the country, Eline quickly intensified, reaching 10‑minute winds of 165 km/h (105 mph) by 18:00 UTC on February 17. Around that time, the cyclone made landfall on eastern Madagascar near Mahanoro. Eline rapidly weakened over land while moving to the west-southwest, and the JTWC downgraded the storm to tropical depression status within 18 hours of moving ashore.