Freddy may develop into the longest cyclone on document – UN

Cyclone Freddy is on monitor to interrupt the document for longest cyclone on document, the United Nations mentioned Friday, because the lethal storm prepares to hit Mozambique once more.

“Freddy continues its unbelievable and harmful journey,” Clare Nullis, spokeswoman for the World Meteorological Group (WMO), instructed reporters in Geneva.

Freddy originated off the northern coast of Australia and what was then a tropical storm was named on February 6.

The present document for length is held by Hurricane John, which lasted 31 days in 1994, the WMO mentioned.

Freddy has been a named tropical cyclone for 33 days.

As soon as it dissipates, a WMO panel of consultants on local weather extremes will consider all the information to find out whether or not a brand new document has certainly been set. The method could take a number of months, Nullis mentioned.

Freddy has periodically weakened, very quickly shedding its tropical storm standing.

“We are going to clearly need to take that into consideration in our evaluation,” mentioned Randall Cerveny, WMO’s rapporteur on excessive climate and local weather situations.

Freddy crossed the complete southern Indian Ocean and made landfall in Madagascar on February 21, crossing the island earlier than reaching Mozambique on February 24.

It crossed Mozambique and Zimbabwe, inflicting heavy rain and flooding.

It then looped again to the coast, the place it recharged with moisture and energy within the heat waters, earlier than hitting Madagascar once more.

It’s now heading in the direction of Mozambique. Freddy is predicted to make landfall within the northern province of Zambezia Friday evening or probably Saturday morning.

“There will likely be very damaging winds, a really harmful storm surge over land, and excessive rainfall over giant areas, not solely in Mozambique however in northeastern Zimbabwe, southeastern Zambia, and Malawi,” the WMO spokeswoman mentioned.

Anticipated rainfall totals are within the vary of 200-300 millimeters, however regionally they may very well be greater than 400-500 mm.

“That is greater than double the standard month-to-month rainfall and is along with the earlier rainfall brought on by Freddy,” Nullis mentioned.

The final cyclones to cross the complete southern Indian Ocean have been tropical cyclones Leon-Eline and Hudah in 2000.