On Tuesday, a remarkable meteorological event took place in the southern hemisphere when six named tropical cyclones were simultaneously active, with several in close proximity to each other. Three of these storms developed in the south-west Pacific. Severe Tropical Cyclone Alfred emerged on February 20 in the Coral Sea, located to the north-east of Australia. It reached an intensity equivalent to a category-4 hurricane by Thursday, with sustained winds of 105mph (170km/h) and gusts reaching approximately 140mph. Alfred is moving south, roughly parallel to the Queensland coast, and warnings have been issued for strong winds and rough seas. Although landfall is not expected, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology is closely monitoring Alfred as its distance from the coast remains uncertain.
In the southern parts of the Pacific, two shorter-lived storms named Rae and Seru developed. Both storms reached a maximum intensity equivalent to a category-2 hurricane, with Rae appearing just north of Fiji on February 22 and traveling south across the island. On the other hand, Tropical Cyclone Seru formed on February 24 over the southernmost Solomon Islands and moved southwards, passing to the east of Vanuatu and New Caledonia. Although Seru stayed offshore, Rae caused significant damage to certain Fijian islands due to heavy rain, gusts of approximately 100mph, and massive waves.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Bianca formed in the Timor Sea, north-west of Australia. It was active between February 18 and 27 in the south-east Indian Ocean. During this period, it initially moved westward before turning south. Consequently, it curved around the continent without making landfall. This cyclone attained a peak intensity equivalent to a category 3 hurricane.
In the south-west Indian Ocean, two more cyclones are currently surrounding Madagascar. These cyclones developed on Monday. The category 3-equivalent Intense Tropical Cyclone Garance originated to the north-east of Madagascar and moved south. After passing to the west of Mauritius, it will affect the French island of Réunion on Friday, with forecasted gusts of up to 120mph and potential rainfall of up to 600mm. In the meantime, the category 1-equivalent Severe Tropical Storm Honde formed in the Mozambique channel and traveled south-east, skirting the southern tip of Madagascar.
Though rare, it is not particularly unusual for this number of named storms to occur simultaneously. However, what is rarer is the occurrence of this many storms within a single ocean basin. The Pacific Ocean has recorded six simultaneous named storms on only one occasion, in August 1974. In contrast, the Atlantic record stands at five, achieved in September 1971.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/feb/28/weather-tracker-six-cyclones-southern-hemisphere-alfred
