Hurricane Freddy is officially Earth’s most active storm on record

On Sunday, Freddy was stationed near the mouth of the Zambezi River in Mozambique and had winds of about 55 mph. The storm crossed the coast on Saturday as a Category 2 hurricane before gradually losing strength over land.

The storm killed 27 people in Madagascar and Mozambique when it hit the two countries last month. Amid its second fall in Mozambique this weekend, at least one person has died, Reuters reportsHowever, the full extent of the hurricane’s toll remains unknown due to “a cut in communications and the electricity supply in the storm area.”

Freddy’s record-setting longevity and condensation spells

Freddy attained Category 5 strength twice over the open southern Indian Ocean in mid-February, and was named for 34 days. That beats the previous world record holder, Hurricane John, which spent 31 days as a storm in the Pacific Ocean between August 11 and September 13, 1994.

In addition, Freddy intensified at an unprecedented speed Seven times compared to the previous record, which was four times. Rapid intensification describes a jump of 35 mph or more in a storm’s winds in 24 hours or less. While most major hurricanes and storms intensify rapidly at least once, anything more than three times in a storm’s life cycle is exceptional.

The most active tropical cyclone in the world

After breaking records for its longevity and ramping up often, Freddy’s has managed to become the planet’s most popular location. active A storm noted having reached a major threshold this weekend.

The amount of energy transmitted by a storm is calculated by a measure known as ACE, or Accumulated Hurricane Energy. It reflects both the intensity of the storm and its duration. Storms harvest this energy from warm ocean waters and expend it through their winds and through precipitation.

As of Saturday night, Freddie had recorded somewhere in the neighborhood of 86 ACE units, surpassing the record 85.26 set by Hurricane and Hurricane Ioke in August-September 2006. That’s more than 100 of the past 172 Atlantic hurricane seasons—not storms. Individual, but complete seasonsACE value.

While Freddy set records for rapid condensation, longevity, and energy dispersion, he didn’t spend his entire life at hurricane force. It weakened to a tropical storm after making landfall in Madagascar on February 21, and then to a depression after its first landfall in Mozambique days later.

Freddy will probably do that finally It dissipates by late Monday or early Tuesday as it unloads its cargo of heavy rain in northern and central Mozambique. Some places can see as close as 25 inches.

While mid-level circulation left by Freddy’s remains may drift southeast over the Mozambique Channel until Wednesday, the torn equatorial entrails don’t appear to have any chance of returning to life.

Jason Samino contributed to this report.