File:Freddy 2023-02-19 0900Z.jpg

English: On the afternoon of February 19, 2023, at 09:00 UTC (1:00 PM Mauritius Local Time), the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument aboard NASA/NOAA's Suomi-NPP satellite captured a true-color image of Very Intense Tropical Cyclone Freddy. This cyclone stood out as an exceptionally potent and long-lasting storm in the records. Originating from a tropical disturbance within a monsoonal trough near Indonesia during the 2022-23 Australian region cyclone season, Freddy embarked on a westward track across the Indian Ocean from early February into mid-March. Within the Australian Bureau of Meteorology's (BoM) area of responsibility, it peaked as a Category 4 cyclone on both the 10-minute Australian scale and the 1-minute Saffir-Simpson wind scale, as per data from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Upon crossing 90° east, which marks the boundary between the BoM and Météo-France's (MFR) areas of responsibilities, Freddy was classified as a "Tropical Cyclone" on the MFR 10-minute wind scale. It rapidly intensified into an "Intense Tropical Cyclone" and then a "Very Intense Tropical Cyclone" on the MFR 10-minute scale, becoming the second cyclone of such intensity during the 2022-23 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season, following Darian in December. Freddy surpassed Fantala of the 2015-16 season to become the most Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) producing cyclone south of the equator, later setting a global ACE record on March 11, surpassing Hurricane-Typhoon Ioke's 2006 record. A few days prior to breaking this record, Freddy surpassed John's longevity record from 1994, surviving a total of 37 days. Following the satellite image capture, Freddy went on to impact Mauritius, Reunion, Madagascar, and eventually Mozambique. At the time of the image, Freddy was moving west-southwest over the Indian Ocean near Rodrigues, reaching peak intensity as a "very intense tropical cyclone" on the 10-minute MFR scale with winds of 140 mph (230 km/h) (120 knots) and classified as a Category 5 equivalent cyclone on the 1-minute Saffir-Simpson scale with winds of 165 mph (266 km/h) (145 knots) . Its minimum central pressure was recorded at 927 mbar (27.4 inHg).