Indian Ocean: Hurricane Orange Alert reunion as Hurricane Freddy approaches The Weather Channel

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By Cyril BONNEFOY, Meteorologist

Posted 2/16/23, updated 2/20/23 2:56 PM

The violent tropical cyclone Freddy is developing as a category 4/5 in the Indian Ocean and will pass just 180km north of Reunion Island late Monday evening. It will cause waves of more than 10m on the most exposed coasts, with winds between 100 and 120 km/h and heavy rains in the north and east of the island. Reunion is placed on cyclone orange alert but on red alert due to wave submersion phenomenon.

It is a particularly strong and compact cyclone with extremely strong winds (>250 km/h) near its center. Passing closer to Réunion in the evening and Monday night, maximum waves could reach 11 to 13 meters, causing a cyclonic wave dive alert of red plain on the north and northeast coast of the island.

An exceptional cyclone for the distance traveled and its duration

Born off the coast of Indonesia on February 5, this cyclone will cross the entire southern Indian Ocean. It will pass closest to Réunion and Mauritius on Monday evening, then continue its route south of Madagascar and could reach Mozambique by the end of the week. This would make Freddy the cyclone that has traveled the longest distance as a cyclone in the southern Indian Ocean since Léon-Eline in February 2000.

Réunion and Mauritius are affected by Cyclone Freddy in the evenings and at night from Monday to Tuesday

It is rare for a cyclone to hit Reunion directly. The cyclonic swell, which will pass 180 km north of the island late Monday evening, will reach 6 to 7 meters on the north and northeast coasts of the island, with maximum waves between 11 and 13 meters. Wind gusts reach 100 to 120 km/h on the coasts and can exceed 130 km/h on the reliefs.

As far as precipitation is concerned, the heaviest precipitation totals on the wind-exposed slopes and mountains reach more than 200 mm in 18h. This will be the case in the southeast of the island, near Piton de la Fournaise (2512m), but also in the centre, near PIton des Neiges (3070m) and Grand Benare (2898m). The risk of flooding and flooding is moderate on the north and east coasts of the island. This rainfall is certainly not exceptional on the coasts, but could cause flooding near the inland reliefs with possible landslides.

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