There were 6 tropical storms in the Southern Hemisphere yesterday

Three tropical cyclones spun in the South Pacific ocean on Tuesday, tying the record for simultaneous storms, while three more cyclones lurked in the southern Indian Ocean.

An unusual situation occurred in the Southern Hemisphere Tuesday afternoon, when six tropical storms, called cyclones in that part of the world, spun in the southern Indian and Pacific oceans at the same time. The last time this happened was 1989.

The tropical season in the Southern Hemisphere runs from November to April.

The five storms included Tropical Cyclone Honde off the coast of Mozambique, Africa; Garance, near Madagascar; Hurricane Bianca to the west of Australia; Hurricane Alfred to the northeast of Australia; and Tropical cyclones Seru and Rae, north of New Zealand.

Reasons for the bounty of storms include weak wind shear and warm sea-surface temperatures, both of which can be credited to La Nina, AccuWeather Lead International Expert Jason Nicholls explained.

Officials issued the last advisory on Cyclone Rae at 4 p.m. EST Tuesday, just as Tropical Cyclone Honde formed. Cyclone Rae caused damage in Fiji on Monday.

The last time three tropical cyclones were in the South Pacific basin simultaneously was in January 1999, when Dani, Olinda and Pete overlapped. In January 2021, it was close, but due to some technical issues with the way storms are named, and definitions of basin lines, that event may not have qualified.

There have been a total of 22 tropical depressions and cyclones in the Southern Hemisphere this season. Accumulated Cyclone Energy, a measure of the energy of all storms, was considerably ahead of historical average since Feb. 12, with Wednesday's number of 166.3 ranking 130 percent of normal to this date.

Cyclones Honde and Garance

Cyclone Honde is moving southeast off the coast of Mozambique and will affect southern Madagascar later this week.

"Heavy rain and gusty winds will continue across southwest Madagascar from Wednesday night into Sunday, with rainfall of 12-24 inches with local amounts to 48 inches," Nicholls said. "Wind gusts to 100 mph are possible along the southern coast, but the strongest winds should remain offshore."

Tropical Cyclone Garance is forecast to track near Reunion Island as a hurricane, something that hasn't happened since Cyclone Firinga in 1989, a Category 2 equivalent on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Before that, the only other hurricane known to hit the island directly was Cyclone Beryl in 1961. However, dozens of tropical storms have tracked near and affected Reunion Island over the years.

"Garance will impact Reunion with heavy rain later Thursday and Friday with several inches of rain likely with local amounts to 2 feet," Nicholls explained. "Wind gusts to 150 mph are possible which will lead to damage. Coastal flooding and high seas are likely around the island," he added.

Hurricane Alfred

Hurricane Alfred developed in the Coral Sea Feb. 24 and continues to intensify while moving south.

Alfred should stay east of Australia," Nicholls said, "But it may get close enough that the outer bands could bring rain to southeast Queensland and northeast New South Wales early next week."

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