A peculiar event unfolded in the Southern Hemisphere on a Tuesday afternoon, as six tropical storms—referred to as cyclones in that region—whirled simultaneously in the southern Indian and Pacific oceans. This phenomenon occurred amid the tropical season in the Southern Hemisphere, which typically spans from November to April. The date marking this extraordinary occurrence was February 25, 2025.
Among the six tropical cyclones that captured attention were Tropical Cyclone Honde situated off the shore of Mozambique in Africa, Garance near Madagascar, Hurricane Bianca located to the west of Australia, Hurricane Alfred positioned northeast of Australia, and Tropical Cyclones Seru and Rae situated north of New Zealand. The abundance of storms was attributed to favorable conditions such as weak wind shear and warm sea-surface temperatures, both of which were influenced by the weather pattern known as La Niña, as elucidated by AccuWeather’s Lead International Expert Jason Nicholls.
The authorities issued the final advisory on Cyclone Rae at 4 p.m. EST on that Tuesday, precisely as Tropical Cyclone Honde was taking shape. Cyclone Rae had already caused damage in Fiji the previous day. The last instance of three tropical cyclones concurrently active in the South Pacific Basin dated back to January 1999, featuring the overlapping storms Dani, Olinda, and Pete. A close call occurred in January 2021; however, due to technicalities related to storm naming protocols and basin delineations, that month did not meet the criteria for this rare occurrence.
Noteworthy developments included Cyclone Honde’s southeastward trajectory off the Mozambique coast, with anticipated impact on southern Madagascar later in the week. Meanwhile, Tropical Cyclone Garance was projected to track in the vicinity of Reunion Island as a hurricane, marking a significant event not witnessed since Cyclone Firinga in 1989, which ranked as a Category 2 equivalent on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Prior to that, the only other recorded direct hit by a hurricane on Reunion Island was Cyclone Beryl in 1961, although numerous tropical storms had influenced the island over the years.
On the same fateful day of February 25, 2025, Hurricane Alfred was swirling off the northeast coast of Australia, having developed in the Coral Sea on February 24. The storm, forecasted to continue intensifying as it headed southward, was poised to make landfall in northeast Queensland over the weekend, bringing with it heavy rainfall and strong gusts, as anticipated by AccuWeather’s Lead Long-Range Expert Paul Pastelok.
