Cyclone Freddy, which is finally dissipating after battering Southeast Africa, has crossed the entire Indian Ocean and made landfall three separate times.
A super-powered cyclone named"Freddy" has likely broken a number of mindblowing records since it formed in early February. The monstrous storm has crossed the Indian Ocean and made landfall three separate times, and may be the most energetic and long-lasting storm ever recorded.
After damaging infrastructure on the islands of Mauritius and Réunion, which both avoided a direct hit, Freddy first made landfall on Feb. 21 as it plowed across the island nation of Madagascar. From there, the storm made landfall at Mozambique on Feb. 23 before briefly heading back out to sea, where it narrowly missed Madagascar again before turning around once more to hit Mozambique again on March 11, along with Malawi and Zimbabwe.
Freddy has also released an astonishing amount of energy during its long life. Scientists measure this using the accumulated cyclone energy index, which tracks wind speed data over time. By Feb. 23, Freddy already had an ACE index of 66, making it the most powerful cyclone ever recorded in the Southern Hemisphere, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration .
Why has Freddy lasted so long? Freddy has lasted so long because it has undergone several periods of restrengthening, where surrounding weather fronts strengthen wind speeds after they initially die down. Freddy has undergone at least four restrengthening events, which is the most ever seen in a tropical cyclone, according to NOAA. Further research will be needed to determine why this happened.
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