Cyclone Freddy: Longest lasting cyclone on record

Cyclone Freddy is set to make history as the world’s longest-lived cyclone after reaching 31 days of life.

Freddy formed on February 6th over the northwest coast of Australia and crossed the entire Indian Ocean on its advance to East Africa where it will soon return over Mozambique which has already received over 500 mm of rain.

As it crossed the ocean, the cyclone gained more strength as it first reached the islands of Mauritius and Réunion. Two weeks later it made landfall in Madagascar, where it began its destructive journey.

Freddy then moved over Mozambique before changing trajectory again turning towards Madagascar. It is still there now, causing a great deal of damage, particularly on the west coast.

Cyclone Freddy is currently moving very slowly across the Mozambique Channel, which is located between the mainland of Africa and the island of Madagascar.

The cyclone will now move over Mozambique and Zimbabwe for the second time, reaching their southeast coastline by Friday.

The longest-lasting cyclone in history, Hurricane John, lasted for 31 days although that system spent almost its entire life at sea.

On March 9th, Freddy will officially take the crown as the longest-lasting system on record. It is not the only record it has claimed.

Freddy has seen six bouts of intensification; this refers to the rapid rise in winds by 35 mph or greater within 24 hours. No storm in the Southern Hemisphere had intensified more than three times and just three storms in the Northern Hemisphere reached four.

Forecasts are not entirely clear due to the cyclone's great unpredictability so far, but the cyclone should dissipate definitively in the early hours of Monday, March 13, 2023.