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Cyclone Freddy
Very Intense Tropical Cyclone Freddy, also known as Severe Tropical Cyclone Freddy, was an exceptionally long-lived, powerful, and deadly tropical cyclone that traversed the southern Indian Ocean for more than five weeks in February and March 2023. Freddy was the longest-lasting tropical cyclone ever recorded worldwide, and produced the most accumulated cyclone energy—a metric used to measure the total energy generated by tropical cyclones—of any individual cyclone on record globally. Additionally, it is the third-deadliest tropical cyclone recorded in the Southern Hemisphere, only behind 2019's Cyclone Idai and the 1973 Flores cyclone.
Freddy originated from a tropical low that was located south of the Indonesian archipelago on 4 February 2023. As it traveled westward across the Indian Ocean, the storm quickly intensified, becoming a Category 4 severe tropical cyclone on the Australian scale. Freddy moved into the South-West Indian Ocean, where it reached its peak intensity with 10-minute sustained winds of 230 km/h (145 mph) and a central atmospheric pressure of 927 hPa (27.37 inHg), making it a very intense tropical cyclone. Meanwhile, 1-minute sustained winds reached 260 km/h (160 mph), corresponding to Category 5-equivalent intensity on the Saffir–Simpson scale. After reaching its peak intensity, the cyclone moved toward the northern Mascarene Islands and made landfall near Mananjary, Madagascar on 21 February. It weakened further across Madagascar but regained strength upon reaching the Mozambique Channel, where it intensified and made its second landfall near Vilankulos, Mozambique on 24 February. After moving across Mozambique, the cyclone endured and re-entered the channel on 1 March. It then regained its tropical characteristics and started moving along the coast of Madagascar. Freddy intensified again before making its final landfall near Quelimane, Mozambique on 11 March. It then rapidly weakened as it moved inland and dissipated by 14 March.
Preparations for the storm in the Mascarene Islands included flight groundings, cyclone alerts, and personnel being prepped for the aftermath, among other things. In Madagascar, areas previously affected by Cyclones Batsirai and Cheneso were feared to be worsened by the storm's arrival. Impacts in Mozambique were more severe than in Madagascar and included heavy rainfall in the southern half of the country and widely damaged infrastructure. Effects in Mozambique were exacerbated after its second landfall with further floods and wind damage. The hardest-hit was Malawi where incessant rains caused catastrophic flash floods, especially Blantyre. The nation's power grid was crippled, with its hydroelectric dam rendered inoperable. Overall, the cyclone resulted in at least 1,434 fatalities, 2,004 injuries, 19 people missing, and caused about US$1.53 billion in damage. Consequently, due to the extensive damage and loss of life, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology has retired the name Freddy from the Australian rotating naming lists. In 2025, the name was replaced with Frederic.
The system that developed into Cyclone Freddy formed on 4 February 2023, when the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) identified it as Tropical Low 13U. Its formation occurred during an active phase of the Madden–Julian oscillation combined with an equatorial Rossby wave while it was south of the Indonesian archipelago. Later, persistent convection around the system's circulation led the BoM to upgrade the tropical low to a Category 1 tropical cyclone on the Australian scale at 12:00 UTC, and it was assigned the name Freddy. The system became increasingly susceptible to wind shear and dry air intrusion, causing Freddy to weaken back into a minimal tropical storm on 9 February. The cyclone quickly restrengthened with the storm becoming a Category 3 severe tropical cyclone—and at 18:00 UTC on 11 February, the cyclone reached as a high-end Category 4 severe tropical cyclone in the Australian basin. On 14 February, the system tracked over the 90th meridian east and into the South-West Indian Ocean cyclone region, and hence responsibility for the storm transitioned to Météo-France (MFR) at La Réunion.
On 19 February, the MFR upgraded Freddy to a very intense tropical cyclone based on a Dvorak technique rating of T7.0, with 10-minute sustained winds of 220 km/h (140 mph) and an estimated barometric pressure of 931 hPa (27.49 inHg). In post-analysis, the MFR concluded a peak wind speed of 230 km/h (145 mph), and minimum central pressure of 927 hPa (27.37 inHg). The system reached Category 5-equivalent intensity, with the United States Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) reporting 1-minute sustained winds of 260 km/h (160 mph). The cyclone's eye pattern quickly deteriorated while it was traversing north of the Mascarene Islands. Freddy 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.
After crossing Madagascar, its circulation became exposed, and the deep convection was stripped away from the center. Freddy emerged into the Mozambique Channel, quickly re-intensifying into a severe tropical storm on 23 February. Freddy reached Mozambique south of Vilankulos on 24 February, bringing winds of 85 km/h (50 mph), which was just shy of severe tropical storm intensity, before moving into Zimbabwe late on 26 February, where it remained for a couple of days. Freddy entered the channel early on 1 March and continued to intensify, reaching tropical cyclone status as it accelerated eastward towards the coast of Madagascar on 5 March, but then weakened to just below minimal tropical storm strength due to increased wind shear and dry air intrusion. Freddy rapidly intensified once more and made its final landfall near Quelimane, Mozambique, with the JTWC estimated winds of about 175 km/h (110 mph) on 11 March; however, the storm's circulation dissipated shortly thereafter, marking the end of Freddy's time as a tropical cyclone on 14 March.
Cyclone Freddy lasted 36 days, made it the longest-lasting tropical cyclone worldwide, in terms of the number of days maintaining tropical storm status or higher, beating the previous record set by Hurricane John in 1994. Freddy was also the second-farthest traveling tropical cyclone globally, behind 1994's Hurricane John, with a distance traveled of 12,785 km (7,945 mi). Freddy also holds the record for the all-time highest accumulated cyclone energy—a metric used to measure the total energy generated by tropical cyclones—of a tropical cyclone worldwide, surpassing the previous record set by Hurricane Ioke in 2006. Freddy was the first tropical cyclone to undergo seven separate rounds of rapid intensification. It was also one of only five systems to traverse the entire southern Indian Ocean from east to west, along with cyclones Litanne in 1994 as well as Leon–Eline, Hudah in 2000, and Dikeledi in 2025.
A class I cyclone warning was issued by Mauritius for Rodrigues, and later a class II cyclone warning was issued. Flights from Rodrigues to Saint-Denis, Réunion, were canceled or rescheduled due to inclement weather. Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth stated this during a radio and television address urging vigilance and caution. The Mauritius Meteorological Services (MMS) issued a class III cyclone warning, estimating that Freddy's center gusts might reach up to 300 km/h (185 mph). The country also shut down its stock exchange as the storm neared. A total of 1,019 people sought refuge in public shelters.
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Cyclone Freddy
Very Intense Tropical Cyclone Freddy, also known as Severe Tropical Cyclone Freddy, was an exceptionally long-lived, powerful, and deadly tropical cyclone that traversed the southern Indian Ocean for more than five weeks in February and March 2023. Freddy was the longest-lasting tropical cyclone ever recorded worldwide, and produced the most accumulated cyclone energy—a metric used to measure the total energy generated by tropical cyclones—of any individual cyclone on record globally. Additionally, it is the third-deadliest tropical cyclone recorded in the Southern Hemisphere, only behind 2019's Cyclone Idai and the 1973 Flores cyclone.
Freddy originated from a tropical low that was located south of the Indonesian archipelago on 4 February 2023. As it traveled westward across the Indian Ocean, the storm quickly intensified, becoming a Category 4 severe tropical cyclone on the Australian scale. Freddy moved into the South-West Indian Ocean, where it reached its peak intensity with 10-minute sustained winds of 230 km/h (145 mph) and a central atmospheric pressure of 927 hPa (27.37 inHg), making it a very intense tropical cyclone. Meanwhile, 1-minute sustained winds reached 260 km/h (160 mph), corresponding to Category 5-equivalent intensity on the Saffir–Simpson scale. After reaching its peak intensity, the cyclone moved toward the northern Mascarene Islands and made landfall near Mananjary, Madagascar on 21 February. It weakened further across Madagascar but regained strength upon reaching the Mozambique Channel, where it intensified and made its second landfall near Vilankulos, Mozambique on 24 February. After moving across Mozambique, the cyclone endured and re-entered the channel on 1 March. It then regained its tropical characteristics and started moving along the coast of Madagascar. Freddy intensified again before making its final landfall near Quelimane, Mozambique on 11 March. It then rapidly weakened as it moved inland and dissipated by 14 March.
Preparations for the storm in the Mascarene Islands included flight groundings, cyclone alerts, and personnel being prepped for the aftermath, among other things. In Madagascar, areas previously affected by Cyclones Batsirai and Cheneso were feared to be worsened by the storm's arrival. Impacts in Mozambique were more severe than in Madagascar and included heavy rainfall in the southern half of the country and widely damaged infrastructure. Effects in Mozambique were exacerbated after its second landfall with further floods and wind damage. The hardest-hit was Malawi where incessant rains caused catastrophic flash floods, especially Blantyre. The nation's power grid was crippled, with its hydroelectric dam rendered inoperable. Overall, the cyclone resulted in at least 1,434 fatalities, 2,004 injuries, 19 people missing, and caused about US$1.53 billion in damage. Consequently, due to the extensive damage and loss of life, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology has retired the name Freddy from the Australian rotating naming lists. In 2025, the name was replaced with Frederic.
The system that developed into Cyclone Freddy formed on 4 February 2023, when the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) identified it as Tropical Low 13U. Its formation occurred during an active phase of the Madden–Julian oscillation combined with an equatorial Rossby wave while it was south of the Indonesian archipelago. Later, persistent convection around the system's circulation led the BoM to upgrade the tropical low to a Category 1 tropical cyclone on the Australian scale at 12:00 UTC, and it was assigned the name Freddy. The system became increasingly susceptible to wind shear and dry air intrusion, causing Freddy to weaken back into a minimal tropical storm on 9 February. The cyclone quickly restrengthened with the storm becoming a Category 3 severe tropical cyclone—and at 18:00 UTC on 11 February, the cyclone reached as a high-end Category 4 severe tropical cyclone in the Australian basin. On 14 February, the system tracked over the 90th meridian east and into the South-West Indian Ocean cyclone region, and hence responsibility for the storm transitioned to Météo-France (MFR) at La Réunion.
On 19 February, the MFR upgraded Freddy to a very intense tropical cyclone based on a Dvorak technique rating of T7.0, with 10-minute sustained winds of 220 km/h (140 mph) and an estimated barometric pressure of 931 hPa (27.49 inHg). In post-analysis, the MFR concluded a peak wind speed of 230 km/h (145 mph), and minimum central pressure of 927 hPa (27.37 inHg). The system reached Category 5-equivalent intensity, with the United States Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) reporting 1-minute sustained winds of 260 km/h (160 mph). The cyclone's eye pattern quickly deteriorated while it was traversing north of the Mascarene Islands. Freddy 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.
After crossing Madagascar, its circulation became exposed, and the deep convection was stripped away from the center. Freddy emerged into the Mozambique Channel, quickly re-intensifying into a severe tropical storm on 23 February. Freddy reached Mozambique south of Vilankulos on 24 February, bringing winds of 85 km/h (50 mph), which was just shy of severe tropical storm intensity, before moving into Zimbabwe late on 26 February, where it remained for a couple of days. Freddy entered the channel early on 1 March and continued to intensify, reaching tropical cyclone status as it accelerated eastward towards the coast of Madagascar on 5 March, but then weakened to just below minimal tropical storm strength due to increased wind shear and dry air intrusion. Freddy rapidly intensified once more and made its final landfall near Quelimane, Mozambique, with the JTWC estimated winds of about 175 km/h (110 mph) on 11 March; however, the storm's circulation dissipated shortly thereafter, marking the end of Freddy's time as a tropical cyclone on 14 March.
Cyclone Freddy lasted 36 days, made it the longest-lasting tropical cyclone worldwide, in terms of the number of days maintaining tropical storm status or higher, beating the previous record set by Hurricane John in 1994. Freddy was also the second-farthest traveling tropical cyclone globally, behind 1994's Hurricane John, with a distance traveled of 12,785 km (7,945 mi). Freddy also holds the record for the all-time highest accumulated cyclone energy—a metric used to measure the total energy generated by tropical cyclones—of a tropical cyclone worldwide, surpassing the previous record set by Hurricane Ioke in 2006. Freddy was the first tropical cyclone to undergo seven separate rounds of rapid intensification. It was also one of only five systems to traverse the entire southern Indian Ocean from east to west, along with cyclones Litanne in 1994 as well as Leon–Eline, Hudah in 2000, and Dikeledi in 2025.
A class I cyclone warning was issued by Mauritius for Rodrigues, and later a class II cyclone warning was issued. Flights from Rodrigues to Saint-Denis, Réunion, were canceled or rescheduled due to inclement weather. Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth stated this during a radio and television address urging vigilance and caution. The Mauritius Meteorological Services (MMS) issued a class III cyclone warning, estimating that Freddy's center gusts might reach up to 300 km/h (185 mph). The country also shut down its stock exchange as the storm neared. A total of 1,019 people sought refuge in public shelters.