Cyclone Freddy Inland Over Madagascar – Tropical Weather Bulletin – February 22, 2023
Cyclone Freddy made landfall on Tuesday evening near Mananjary, along the eastern coast of Madagascar, as a borderline Category 3 on the Saffir Simpson Scale. The storm contained winds near 185kph at landfall, or 115 miles per hour, but has weakened significantly since then and will continue to wind down as it crosses the country. Freddy is likely to emerge over the Mozambique channel as a tropical depression or weak tropical storm, before potentially rapidly intensifying as it heads towards southern Mozambique, where it could once again reach hurricane strength.
Freddy is expected to stall over southern Mozambique as it disintegrates into a remnant low for a few days, dumping very large amounts of rainfall. Currently indications are suggesting in excess of 250mm of rainfall in the Beira area, and potentially even higher towards the capital Maputo, with severe rainfall potentially crossing into Zimbabwe, South Africa, and eSwatini. The storm is expected to dissipate completely at the weekend. Elsewhere, an area of interest in the Southern Indian Ocean is likely to become another tropical storm, but is not likely to last long and will steer clear of the Mascarene islands.
Watch our full Tropical Weather Bulletin using this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7N2cE_ZCTM
