Tropical cyclone Freddy may be longest on record after lasting 32 days

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is considering whether tropical cyclone Freddy should beryllium named the longest-lasting tropical cyclone connected grounds arsenic it clocks up its 32nd day.

“Freddy is beauteous unusual,” says Liz Ritchie-Tyo astatine Monash University successful Melbourne, Australia. Most tropical cyclones, which are low-pressure systems that signifier implicit lukewarm tropical waters, lone past for astir six oregon 7 days, she says.

Freddy originated disconnected the north-west seashore of Australia connected 6 February earlier travelling much than 7000 kilometres crossed the Indian Ocean to south-east Africa.

The agelong travel of Cyclone Freddy continues.

This unthinkable 3 week animation shows that journey. pic.twitter.com/JOpCwsNqnj

— CIRA (@CIRA_CSU) March 7, 2023

Since making landfall successful Madagascar connected 21 February, the tropical cyclone has been bouncing betwixt Madagascar, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, causing beardown winds, dense rainfall and flooding. It has destroyed thousands of homes and claimed much than 20 lives.

Freddy has astir apt lasted truthful agelong due to the fact that the surrounding upwind conditions person been unusually light, says Ritchie-Tyo. Normally, tropical cyclones successful this portion brushwood beardown winds that propulsion them southbound implicit colder waters and origin them to dissipate, she says.

The existent grounds holder for the longest-lived tropical cyclone is 1 called John that lasted for 31 days successful the Pacific Ocean successful 1994.

The WMO says it is assembling an adept committee to determine whether Freddy has breached John’s record.

Although Freddy has already lasted longer than John did, astatine times, it has dropped beneath tropical cyclone spot portion passing implicit land.

“One question that we volition beryllium addressing is the information that passim its agelong lifetime, the tempest has periodically weakened beneath tropical tempest status,” Randall Cerveny astatine the WMO said successful a press release. “We volition evidently request to code if that is simply a interest successful our evaluation.”

This is however galore areas of Mozambique look similar aft cyclone Freddy. There is inactive much rainfall coming up, and astir rivers successful the country’s cardinal and confederate regions person overflowed. pic.twitter.com/ggJFQPmgeR

— Zenaida Machado (@zenaidamz) February 28, 2023

To date, Freddy has generated more than 72 units of accumulated cyclone energy – a measurement of a cyclone’s spot implicit time. This puts it successful 2nd spot down a tropical cyclone called Ioke that generated 85 units successful 2006.

Freddy has besides undergone six abstracted periods of accelerated intensification, meaning increases successful upwind velocity of astatine slightest 30 knots successful 24 hours, which is the astir of immoderate documented tropical cyclone.

Ritchie-Tyo says Freddy should yet dissipate this weekend. This is due to the fact that the cyclone is already weakening and is predicted to caput into adust conditions successful Mozambique connected Saturday greeting section time, wherever “the friction of the onshore should deterioration the winds down”.

“I deliberation it volition dice beauteous rapidly erstwhile it makes landfall this time,” she says.

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