NASA now has an image up of what was our strongest storm so far this year--Cyclone Indlala, which was a mid-range Category 4 at its peak with 125 knot winds (144 mph). Pressure is estimated, by the University of Wisconsin folks, to have dropped down to 919 millibars.
As for damage, we don't know that much yet, but there have apparently been heavy losses to the vanilla crop in Madagascar and especially around the cyclone-plagued Antalaha. Today the U.N. made an appeal for $ 9.6 million in humanitarian aid to Madagascar.
Some other news: the gigantic Cyclone Gamede, which also affected Madagascar, has officially set a new world record for rainfall: "most precipitation in a 72-hour period." La Réunion got 12.9 feet (converts to 3.929 meters)! Jeff Masters has the details. I suspect that scientists like Kevin Trenberth might be inclined to bring up global warming in this context: Due to increased atmospheric retention of water vapor, precipitation in hurricanes is expected to increase, on average, in the future. (That doesn't mean global warming caused this record, of course, but it's certainly consistent with that expectation.)
As for the Southern Hemisphere, we're moving out of the peak of the season, but it's not over yet, as NOAA's Hurricane Research Division explains:
The Southwest Indian and Australian/Southeast Indian basins have very similar annual cycles with tropical cyclones beginning in late October/early November, reaching a double peak in activity - one in mid-January and one in mid-February to early March, and then ending in May. The Australian/Southeast Indian basin February lull in activity is a bit more pronounced than the Southwest Indian basin's lull.
The Australian/Southwest Pacific basin begin with tropical cyclone activity in late October/early November, reaches a single peak in late February/early March, and then fades out in early May.
Save for Cyclone George, Australia has had it pretty easy this year, unlike last year. But Madagascar and Mozambique have really been pummeled. In any event, it's not over yet: Cyclone Monica, which some suspect may have been the lowest pressure storm ever observed (we don't really know, of course), affected Australia in late April last year.
CORRECTION: I now realize that Cyclone Favio was also estimated to have had 125 knot winds (1 minute sustained) at one point, so actually, Indlala and Favio are tied for our strongest storm of the year so far. We have not yet had any Cat 5s.
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