- Date:
- February 4, 2023 - March 14, 2023
Cyclone Freddy
What was Cyclone Freddy’s duration and track record?
Which countries were most affected by Cyclone Freddy?
How did Cyclone Freddy originate and intensify?
Cyclone Freddy, cyclone that developed in the Southern Hemisphere northwest of Australia in February 2023 and became the longest-lived tropical cyclone on record, lasting 36 days. Traveling a lateral distance of about 5,000 miles (8,000 km) and covering a total path of nearly 8,100 miles (13,000 km), it had the second longest track ever observed, after Hurricane John (1994). In its long course the cyclone impacted many islands, including Mauritius and Réunion, but its most devastating impacts were observed in Madagascar, Mozambique, and Malawi.
Origin and track
Cyclone Freddy originated from a tropical low-pressure region northwest of Australia on February 4, 2023. Warm Indian Ocean waters, exceeding 80 °F (27 °C), allowed the system to organize rapidly. Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) designated it Tropical Cyclone Freddy on February 6, and it intensified into a severe tropical cyclone the next day.
As Cyclone Freddy tracked west across the Indian Ocean, unfavorable wind shear (rapid change in wind speed or direction) occasionally reduced its strength, but the balance of factors acting on the system re-intensified it multiple times in its path across the ocean. It never dropped below tropical cyclone intensity during this stage and accumulated energy from the steady low-pressure conditions provided by warm ocean waters in its course and the presence of subtropical ridges to the south that enhanced moisture inflow into the cyclone. At its most intense, on February 19, the system grew to the equivalent of a category 5 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with a wind speed of about 165 miles (270 km) per hour. The cyclone traversed the width of the Indian Ocean to make landfall on the eastern coast of Madagascar, near Mananjary, on February 21 as a category 3 cyclone.
After passing through Madagascar, Cyclone Freddy traveled across the Mozambique Channel toward Mozambique. Although it exited Madagascar’s west coast as a tropical depression, the waters of the Mozambique Channel provided a pressure low enough for it to re-intensify again into a tropical storm and then a tropical cyclone. It brought wind speeds of about 50 miles (80 km) per hour as it made landfall in Mozambique as a tropical storm on February 24. Freddy weakened into a tropical depression before passing west into Zimbabwe on February 27. It then looped its course to exit the country the next day.
Subtropical ridge: A high-pressure region in the subtropics (between 20° and 40° of latitude in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres) that steers tropical cyclones. The position and strength of a ridge largely determine a storm’s track across ocean basins.
Steering current: Persistent atmospheric flow 3–6 miles (5–10 km) above sea level that determines a tropical cyclone’s direction of movement, carrying the storm along like a current in the air.
Unique track in the Mozambique Channel
By March 1 an upper-atmosphere jet stream had pushed Freddy across the breadth of Mozambique and into the Mozambique Channel again. The cyclone moved east toward Madagascar and again re-intensified into a tropical storm that moved toward the Madagascar coast near the city of Toliara.
About March 6–7 the system met a subtropical ridge near the Madagascar coast and curved abruptly to the west even as it continued intensifying, now moving back toward Mozambique. It made its second landfall in Mozambique on March 11 as a category 1 tropical cyclone. It then moved northeast into Malawi, weakening yet again into a depression, and finally dissipated on March 14.
Impact
Scientists noted that Cyclone Freddy accumulated more energy than any other single tropical cyclone on record, comparable to an entire North Atlantic hurricane season. This unprecedented energy output, along with the timing of the cyclone’s unusually frequent re-intensifications and its meandering final course, caused severe humanitarian crises across southeastern Africa.
The trusted destination for professionals, college students, and lifelong learners.
SUBSCRIBE
Cyclone Freddy brought torrential rain, flooding, landslides, and destructive winds to Madagascar. More than 200,000 people were affected by its landfall and course through the country as well as its close approach to the west coast on March 6, and at least 17 are known to have died because of it. More than 40,000 houses were damaged by the storm.
In Mozambique the storm’s two landfalls led to large-scale flooding that ruined more than 963,700 acres (390,000 hectares) of agricultural land and displaced at least 184,000 people. More than a million people in all were affected by the cyclone, with over 180 dead. The storm also worsened the effects of a cholera outbreak in the country, causing damage to public infrastructure and health systems.
Although Freddy entered Malawi as a tropical depression, it still caused intense rainfall that led to catastrophic floods and landslides, leading to some of the worst effects of the cyclone in the region. More than 1,200 people were declared dead or missing in the country after the storm disrupted communications and transportation, blocking segments of the population in 15 southern districts from food, water, and electricity. Agriculture was also heavily impacted, with more than 494,200 acres (200,000 hectares) of crops destroyed.
The combined damage from Cyclone Freddy across the countries in its path amounted to about $481 million, and millions of people were affected. Widespread power outages, impact on civic works, and agricultural losses further strained recovery, disrupting essential supply lines and causing food shortages. The three countries struggled to mitigate outbreaks of waterborne diseases and treat those injured in the wake of the storm as more than 300 health centers were destroyed.
The name “Freddy” was retired from the BOM’s cyclone naming list due to its catastrophic impact.