Tropical Cyclone Freddy is an extremely rare storm that stayed in the Indian Ocean for over a month. It brought wind and rain to whatever it crossed, causing destruction across its path.
This storm started in the ocean near Australia on February 6, 2023 and it travelled all the way across the Indian Ocean to Madagascar. It then went back and forth until it finally reached Mozambique. On March 8, 2023, it was still travelling towards Mozambique in a northwesterly direction.
A special camera on a NOAA-20 satellite took a picture of the storm at 1:10 PM on March 8th, 2023. Despite being affected by dry air, the storm was still predicted to reach Mozambique with strong winds at 86 miles per hour. That is equivalent to a hurricane category 1 intensity.
For 32 whole days, Freddy has been on its own amazing journey! According to the World Meteorological Organization, it has become the longest lasting tropical cyclone ever recorded. Hurricane John previously held the record of enduring for 31 days in the Central Pacific back in 1994.
On March 7, 2023, Freddy was measured to have generated 72 units of accumulated cyclone energy (ACE). That number puts it in the second position on the all-time list for ACE generated by a single storm since 1980! The record is held by Ioke from 2006 who had 85 units of ACE.
This image was created by NASA Earth Observatory, using data from various sources. This includes the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS), which is a joint effort between NASA and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).
