 Track of Cyclone Freddy, according to the Saffir-Simpson scale | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 4 February 2023 |
| Dissipated | 14 March 2023 |
| Duration | 5 weeks and 3 days (Longest-lasting tropical system on record) |
| Very intense tropical cyclone | |
| 10-minute sustained (MFR) | |
| Highest winds | 230 km/h (145 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 927 hPa (mbar); 27.37 inHg |
| Category 5-equivalent tropical cyclone | |
| 1-minute sustained (SSHWS/JTWC) | |
| Highest winds | 270 km/h (165 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 918 hPa (mbar); 27.11 inHg |
| Overall effects | |
| Areas affected |
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Part of the 2022–23 Australian region and South-West Indian Ocean cyclone seasons | |
| History • Meteorological history Response • Commons: Freddy images | |
Cyclone Freddy was the longest-lived tropical cyclone, lasting five weeks and three days, surpassing the previous record holder, 1994's Hurricane John. It also had the highest accumulated cyclone energy, a metric used to measure tropical cyclone activity, ever recorded worldwide. It also featured a record seven separate rounds of rapid intensification during February and March 2023. Freddy originated from a tropical low south of the Indonesian archipelago early on 4 February. Deep convection soon developed, and the system intensified Category 1 tropical cyclone on the Australian scale on 6 February. Located just within Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre Melbourne's area of responsibility, the storm was named Freddy—the third named storm of the 2022–23 Australian region cyclone season—by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. As it moved westward across the Indian Ocean, Freddy quickly intensified and became a Category 4 severe tropical cyclone before it moved into the area of responsibility of Météo-France La Réunion. As the second very intense tropical cyclone of the 2022–23 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season. Freddy peaked with 10-minute sustained winds of 230 km/h (145 mph) and a central barometric pressure of 927 hPa (27.37 inHg). It quickly strengthened, reaching 1-minute sustained winds of 270 km/h (165 mph), making it a Category 5-equivalent intensity on the Saffir–Simpson scale.
After briefly weakening from its peak intensity, the cyclone moved toward the northern Mascarene Islands. It then developed a pinhole eye while approaching Madagascar as a compact tropical cyclone. The cyclone then made landfall as a strong Category 2-equivalent intensity with 1-minute sustained winds of 175 km/h (110 mph) near Mananjary, Madagascar on 21 February. This made Freddy the strongest storm to impact the island nation since Cyclone Batsirai a year earlier. It weakened further as it moved overland but regained strength upon reaching the Mozambique Channel. The cyclone intensified into a severe tropical storm and then passed north of Europa Island. The cyclone then made its second landfall near Vilankulos, Mozambique, as a moderate tropical storm status on 24 February. Upon re-entering the channel early on 1 March, it began regaining tropical characteristics and meandering along the Madagascar coast. It then intensified into a tropical cyclone with winds of about 175 km/h (110 mph) before making its final landfall near Quelimane, Mozambique on 11 March. Thereafter, it gradually weakened and dissipated late on 14 March.