Tropical cyclones

2023 - 2 - 23

Post cover — Image courtesy of "Eumetsat"

Record-breaking Tropical Cyclone Freddy crosses Indian Ocean (Eumetsat)

Long-lived tropical cyclone Freddy traversed more than 9,000km across the entire southern Indian Ocean in 17 days, starting on 5 February from the seas north of ...

While the True Color RGB shows various, quite similar, shades of grey/white surrounding the eye, the Cloud Phase RGB displays the low clouds of the eye in pink, and the surrounding strong cumulonimbus wall as bright blue. It is important to note that while the True Color RGB offers a realistic, true colour view of what would be seen from the satellite, the Cloud Phase RGB reveals much more in cloud type and microphysics (pink or white = low/water clouds, cyan or blue = high/ice clouds) and, consequently, quite clearly shows the cyclone eye. Figure 5 shows a comparison of the Suomi-NPP VIIRS True Color RGB (left) and Cloud Phase RGB (right). A simple sample of SST was done for a location along the anticipated track of the cyclone and the measurement showed 28.88C, above the threshold mentioned. Regular IR 10.8µm in grey scale shows the cloud tops surrounding the eye of the cyclone as bright white. On 21 February, at around 16:15 UTC, Freddy made landfall on the southeastern coast of Madagascar.

Southern Africa: Tropical Cyclone Freddy - Flash Update No. 2 (22 ... (ReliefWeb)

Situation Report in English on Madagascar about Tropical Cyclone; published on 22 Feb 2023 by OCHA.

Freddy is expected to emerge in the Mozambique Channel in the evening of 22 February and will begin to gradually intensify again before landing on the coast of Mozambique on 24 February, likely between Inhambane and Beira. Tropical Cyclone Freddy made landfall on the eastern coast of Madagascar, near Mananjary, on 21 February. At least four people in Madagascar have died and 11,000 have been displaced by the storm’s passage.

Tropical Cyclone Freddy Breaks Records before Lashing Madagascar (nesdis)

Around 7:20 p.m. local time on February 21, 2023, Tropical Cyclone Freddy made landfall on the eastern coast of Madagascar 18 miles north of the town.

Today, Freddy is churning over the Mozambique Channel, and is expected to make landfall in Mozambique tomorrow between the Govuro and Vilankulos districts of the Inhambane province as a [tropical storm](https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/mozambique-braces-floods-storm-freddy-nears-landfall-2023-02-23/). [The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument ](https://ncc.nesdis.noaa.gov/VIIRS/)on both the Joint Polar Satellite System’s NOAA-20 and Suomi NPP satellites plays an important role in detecting and tracking storms. [four systems](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Freddy) that have crossed the southern Indian Ocean from east to west—the others were cyclones Litanne in 1994 as well as Leon–Eline and Hudah in 2000. [7:20 p.m](https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/madagascar-suspends-schools-cyclone-freddy-approaches-2023-02-21/). Only two Atlantic hurricanes have had a higher lifetime ACE index than Freddy—Hurricane Three in 1899 (ACE: 73.6) and Hurricane Ivan in 2004 (ACE: 70.4). These satellites track a tropical cyclone’s position and movement and monitor its center of circulation and wind fields in near real time. As Freddy tore across the island, it caused [flooding and property damage](https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/mozambique-braces-floods-storm-freddy-nears-landfall-2023-02-23/). JPSS instruments provide data that is particularly useful in helping forecasters predict a hurricane’s path 3-7 days out. Freddy weakened to the equivalent of a [Category 3 cyclone ahead of landfall](https://public.wmo.int/en/media/news/tropical-cyclone-freddy-hits-madagascar-and-mozambique). In fact, it is one of only local time on February 21, 2023, Tropical Cyclone Freddy made landfall on the eastern coast of Madagascar [18 miles north](https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/madagascar-suspends-schools-cyclone-freddy-approaches-2023-02-21/) of the town of Mananjary. Freddy has already generated about 66 units of ACE, beating the previous record of 53, formerly held by Cyclone Fantala in 2016.

Tropical Cyclone Freddy Hits Madagascar (SciTechDaily)

The tropical cyclone made landfall on February 21, 2023, after traveling for more than two weeks across the Indian Ocean. After traveling for 15 days across ...

Freddy was the second cyclone to hit Madagascar during the 2022–2023 season, which runs from around late October to May in the [UK Met Office](https://twitter.com/metoffice/status/1628061735088168960). [130 kilometers (80 miles) per hour](https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/madagascar-suspends-schools-cyclone-freddy-approaches-2023-02-21/), but precise wind speeds at landfall were yet to be confirmed. The 15-day lifespan of the cyclone is unusual; few cyclones travel so far and are sustained for so long. It was acquired by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the NOAA-20 satellite. local time (10:50 Universal Time) on February 21.

Winds lash Madagascar's coast as Cyclone Freddy makes landfall (BBC News)

At least one person has died after a tropical cyclone battered Madagascar's east coast, with heavy rain and powerful winds tearing roofs off houses and ...

Who's to say that in 15 days another one won't fall on us?" "It's a repeat performance. Batsirai and Emnati in 2022, Freddy in 2023... The country's meteorological service warned that torrential rains would continue along its path. The Indian Ocean island nation is particularly vulnerable to cyclones. "All the doors and windows started shaking," said Tahina, a resident of Mananjary, a coastal town of around 25,000 people 30km from where the cyclone first made landfall.

Deadly Cyclone Freddy to conclude unusual 5000-mile journey ... (FOX Weather)

Cyclone Freddy traveled nearly 5000 miles across the southern Indian Ocean – one of the longest tropical cyclone tracks on record in that ocean basin – and ...

[HOW MANY CATEGORY 5 HURRICANES HAVE MADE LANDFALL IN THE U.S.?](https://www.foxweather.com/weather-news/category-5-hurricane-hit) [Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/science-storms-natural-disasters-indian-ocean-madagascar-d4700348d4937a4b034097665b0c67d6), Cyclone Freddy has been blamed for the deaths of four people in Madagascar. The storm previously peaked at [Category 5-equivalent intensity](https://www.foxweather.com/learn/saffir-simpson-hurricane-wind-scale-hurricane-ratings) last weekend as it tracked across the southern Indian Ocean. [tropical storm](https://www.foxweather.com/learn/difference-between-tropical-depression-tropical-storm-hurricane) as of Thursday (U.S. [5 DIFFERENT NAMES FOR HURRICANES AROUND THE WORLD](https://www.foxweather.com/learn/5-different-names-hurricanes-around-world) Since then, it has traveled across the entire southern Indian Ocean – a journey of nearly 5,000 miles. Earlier this week, Cyclone Freddy made its first landfall near Mananjary on the eastern coast of Madagascar late Tuesday morning (U.S. A forecast advisory issued by the THAN WIND](https://www.foxweather.com/learn/water-from-hurricanes-tropical-storms-kills-more-in-us-than-wind) [NOAA's historical hurricane tracks database](https://coast.noaa.gov/hurricanes/#map=2.24/-16.77/104.32&search=eyJzZWFyY2hTdHJpbmciOiJTb3V0aCBJbmRpYW4gT2NlYW4gQmFzaW4iLCJzZWFyY2hUeXBlIjoiYmFzaW4iLCJjYXRlZ29yaWVzIjpbIkg1Il0sInllYXJzIjpbXSwibW9udGhzIjpbXSwiZW5zbyI6W10sInByZXNzdXJlIjp7InJhbmdlIjpbMCwxMTUwXSwiaW5jbHVkZVVua25vd25QcmVzc3VyZSI6dHJ1ZX0sImJ1ZmZlclVuaXQiOlsiTWlsZXMiXSwic29ydFNlbGVjdGlvbiI6eyJ2YWx1ZSI6InllYXJzX25ld2VzdCIsImxhYmVsIjoiWWVhciAoTmV3ZXN0KSJ9LCJhcHBseVRvQU9JIjpmYWxzZSwiaXNTdG9ybUxhYmVsc1Zpc2libGUiOnRydWV9) indicated that Freddy was only the 20th tropical cyclone to reach Category 5 status in the South Indian Ocean since 1989. [hurricanes](https://www.foxweather.com/category/hurricanes) in the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific oceans, they are called [cyclones in the Indian Ocean](https://www.foxweather.com/learn/5-different-names-hurricanes-around-world). [Africa](https://www.foxweather.com/category/africa).

Dynamic NASA-Built Weather Sensors Enlisted to Track Tropical ... (Jet Propulsion Laboratory)

Known as COWVR and TEMPEST, the duo is demonstrating that smaller, less expensive science instruments can play an important role in weather forecasting.

And the Joint Typhoon Warning Center intends to take a closer look at COWVR’s surface wind speed and direction data – not just the imagery – to see if it improves tropical cyclone forecasts. “These are critical behind-the-scenes efforts that enable us to feel confident using measurements from these new instruments,” said Steve Swadley, NRL’s lead for calibration and validation of data from spaceborne microwave sensors. “NASA developed these instruments to be compact and simple, without many moving parts, and using technology that has matured over the decades,” said Shannon Brown, principal investigator for COWVR at JPL. The Naval Research Laboratory has sent data from COWVR and TEMPEST to the U.S. With COWVR, the water vapor and how it moves are the focus. In fact, COWVR and TEMPEST images were among the sources used by a forecaster at the typhoon center in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to pin down the location of Tropical Cyclone Mandous, which roiled the Bay of Bengal off southern India in December 2022. Data from microwave readings have an advantage over those from infrared or visible light: They can give forecasters a look at the internal structure of a tropical cyclone and help them locate the eye, even if it’s obscured by clouds. Department of Defense (DoD) started considering the next generation of instruments that could replace sensors such as WindSat, a DoD weather radiometer that operated until 2020. COWVR also uses a rotating dish, but JPL engineers managed to simplify the instrument’s design, making it more power-efficient without compromising its capabilities. Storm forecasters have been trying out the imagery – evaluating how it affects predictions and comparing it with other data sources – said Brian Strahl, the center’s director. Both instruments have exceeded expectations as trial runs, and they are already delivering useful forecast information for the most devastating of storms, tropical cyclones. Space Force, which also funded the construction of COWVR.