March 2023 Tropical Cyclones Report

Summary

Four named storms occurred across the globe in March, which was below the 1991-2020 average. All four storms reached tropical cyclone strength (≥74 mph), and three reached major tropical cyclone strength (≥111 mph). Both of these counts are above their 1991-2020 averages for March. The global accumulated cyclone energy (ACE: an integrated metric of the strength, frequency, and duration of tropical storms) was about half of its 1991-2020 average in March.

No tropical cyclones were active in the Northern Hemisphere during March, which is typical. However, no named storms have formed in the Western Pacific during January-March, which has only happened in 13 of the last 43 years.

Tropical cyclone Freddy's remnants reemerged over the Mozambique Channel and redeveloped in early March. The storm was active during most of the month of February before making landfall in Mozambique. The redeveloped Freddy underwent two more rounds of rapid intensification including regaining major tropical cyclone strength on March 8. It weakened before making its final landfall in Mozambique on March 11. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center completed tracking its remnants on March 14—35 days after it formed. Freddy may have set several meteorological records including for the longest lived storm, the most ACE produced by a single storm, and the most episodes of rapid intensification. Freddy was the only named storm in the South Indian Ocean during March, which was below the 1991-2020 average for named storms but near average for other metrics.

Major Cyclone Herman was the only named storm in the Australian region, which was quieter than average for March. Herman formed on March 29 and rapidly intensified from a tropical storm to a category-4 cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale in 24 hours. However, it remained far from land, which limited its effects.

Two storms were active in the Southwest Pacific in March, which was more active than average. Both Judy and Kevin followed similar paths near Vanuatu in early March.

North Atlantic

No North Atlantic Tropical Cyclones occurred during March 2023.

North Atlantic Tropical Cyclone March Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2023 Rank*	1851-2023 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Marches)	1st (tied with 42 other Marches)	1 (1908)
Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Marches)	1st (tied with 42 other Marches)	1 (1908)
Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Marches)	1st (tied with 42 other Marches)	0
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	0.0 (0 in 10 Marches)	1st (tied with 42 other Marches)	5.8 (1908)

North Atlantic Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January-March 2023

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2023 Rank*	1851-2023 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.1 (1 in 10 seasons)	3rd (tied with 40 other seasons)	1 (8 seasons)
Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 seasons)	2nd (tied with 41 other seasons)	1 (1908, 1938, 1955, 2016)
Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 seasons)	1st (tied with 42 other seasons)	0
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	0.3 (3 in 10 seasons)	3rd (tied with 40 other seasons)	6.5 (1955)

East Pacific

No East Pacific Tropical Cyclones occurred during March 2023.

East Pacific Tropical Cyclone March Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2023 Rank*	1949-2023 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Marches)	2nd (tied with 41 other Marches)	1 (1992)
Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Marches)	1st (tied with 42 other Marches)	0
Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Marches)	1st (tied with 42 other Marches)	0
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	0.0 (0 in 10 Marches)	2nd (tied with 41 other Marches)	0.6 (1992)

East Pacific Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January-March 2023

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2023 Rank*	1949-2023 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.1 (1 in 10 seasons)	4th (tied with 39 other seasons)	2 (1992)
Hurricane Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.1 (1 in 10 seasons)	3rd (tied with 40 other seasons)	1 (1992, 2016)
Major Hurricane Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 seasons)	2nd (tied with 41 other seasons)	1 (1992)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	0.8 (8 in 10 seasons)	4th (tied with 39 other seasons)	13.9 (1992)

West Pacific

No West Pacific Tropical Cyclones occurred during March 2023.

West Pacific Tropical Cyclone March Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2023 Rank*	1945-2023 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.5 (5 in 10 Marches)	16th (tied with 27 other Marches)	3 (1982)
Typhoon Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.2 (2 in 10 Marches)	9th (tied with 34 other Marches)	1 (15 Marchs)
Major Typhoon Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.1 (1 in 10 Marches)	6th (tied with 37 other Marches)	1 (9 Marchs)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	3.1	16th (tied with 27 other Marches)	30.2 (2002)

West Pacific Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January-March 2023

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2023 Rank*	1945-2023 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	1.1	30th (tied with 13 other seasons)	5 (1965)
Typhoon Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.4 (4 in 10 seasons)	16th (tied with 27 other seasons)	3 (2015)
Major Typhoon Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.2 (2 in 10 seasons)	9th (tied with 34 other seasons)	2 (1953, 2015)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	5.8	30th (tied with 13 other seasons)	44.7 (1958)

North Indian

No North Indian Tropical Cyclones occurred during March 2023.

North Indian Tropical Cyclone March Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2023 Rank*	1972-2023 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Marches)	3rd (tied with 40 other Marches)	1 (1994, 2022)
Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Marches)	1st (tied with 42 other Marches)	0
Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 Marches)	1st (tied with 42 other Marches)	0
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	0.0 (0 in 10 Marches)	3rd (tied with 40 other Marches)	0.8 (1994)

North Indian Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January-March 2023

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2023 Rank*	1972-2023 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	0	0.2 (2 in 10 seasons)	11th (tied with 32 other seasons)	1 (10 seasons)
Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 seasons)	1st (tied with 42 other seasons)	0
Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	0	0.0 (0 in 10 seasons)	1st (tied with 42 other seasons)	0
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	0.0	0.2 (2 in 10 seasons)	11th (tied with 32 other seasons)	1.8 (1987)

South Indian

March 2023 South Indian Tropical Cyclones

Name	Maximum CategoryMax Cat	Dates >39 mph	Maximum Sustained Winds	Minimum Central Pressure
Freddy	3	March 4Mar 4-13	115 mph	957 mb

South Indian Tropical Cyclone March Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2023 Rank*	1956-2023 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	1	2.2	29th (tied with 10 other Marches)	5 (1994)
Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	1	1.4	17th (tied with 20 other Marches)	4 (2019)
Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	1	0.8 (8 in 10 Marches)	11th (tied with 12 other Marches)	3 (2019)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	15.8	19.0	20th	71.2 (1994)

South Indian Tropical Cyclone Season Counts July 2022-March 2023

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2023 Rank*	1956-2023 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	8	9.2	24th (tied with 7 other seasons)	15 (1997)
Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	6	5.2	9th (tied with 11 other seasons)	9 (1994, 1997, 2019)
Major Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	3	3.1	12th (tied with 14 other seasons)	8 (2019)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	119.9	81.3	6th	161.4 (1994)

Australia

March 2023 Australia Tropical Cyclones

Name	Maximum CategoryMax Cat	Dates >39 mph	Maximum Sustained Winds	Minimum Central Pressure
Herman	4	March 29-April 2Mar 29-Apr 2	145 mph	932 mb

Australia Tropical Cyclone March Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2023 Rank*	1956-2023 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	1	2.5	34th (tied with 4 other Marches)	5 (1999, 2004)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	1	1.5	18th (tied with 16 other Marches)	4 (2006)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	1	1.0	10th (tied with 15 other Marches)	3 (1999, 2004, 2006, 2019)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	8.9	19.5	29th	54.8 (2005)

Australia Tropical Cyclone Season Counts July 2022-March 2023

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2023 Rank*	1956-2023 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	8	8.7	23rd (tied with 4 other seasons)	17 (1999)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	4	3.9	15th (tied with 5 other seasons)	8 (1996)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	3	2.0	5th (tied with 6 other seasons)	4 (1992, 1999, 2006, 2015)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	49.5	48.1	19th	98.4 (1999)

Southwest Pacific

March 2023 Southwest Pacific Tropical Cyclones

Name	Maximum CategoryMax Cat	Dates >39 mph	Maximum Sustained Winds	Minimum Central Pressure
Judy	2	February 27-March 4Feb 27-Mar 4	100 mph	959 mb
Kevin	4	March 1Mar 1-6	155 mph	918 mb

Southwest Pacific Tropical Cyclone March Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2023 Rank*	1956-2023 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	2	1.6	9th (tied with 15 other Marches)	4 (1980, 1983, 1992)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	2	0.9 (9 in 10 Marches)	2nd (tied with 7 other Marches)	4 (1983)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	1	0.5 (5 in 10 Marches)	5th (tied with 12 other Marches)	2 (1983, 1992, 2003, 2010)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	18.8	11.2	9th	45.2 (1992)

Southwest Pacific Tropical Cyclone Season Counts July 2022-March 2023

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2023 Rank*	1956-2023 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	6	6.2	16th (tied with 4 other seasons)	14 (1998)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	3	3.4	18th (tied with 5 other seasons)	10 (1998)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	1	1.8	19th (tied with 13 other seasons)	6 (2003)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	25.3	45.7	26th	118.1 (1992)

Global

March 2023 Global Tropical Cyclones

Name	Maximum CategoryMax Cat	Dates >39 mph	Maximum Sustained Winds	Minimum Central Pressure
Judy	2	February 27-March 4Feb 27-Mar 4	100 mph	959 mb
Kevin	4	March 1Mar 1-6	155 mph	918 mb
Freddy	3	March 4Mar 4-13	115 mph	957 mb
Herman	4	March 29-April 2Mar 29-Apr 2	145 mph	932 mb

Global Tropical Cyclone March Counts

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2023 Rank*	1972-2023 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	4	6.1	33rd (tied with 4 other Marches)	10 (1994)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	4	3.7	12th (tied with 10 other Marches)	7 (2007, 2019)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	3	2.4	10th (tied with 7 other Marches)	6 (2019)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	43.4	52.9	25th	116.0 (2019)

Global Tropical Cyclone Season Counts January-March 2023

Storm Type	Count	1991-2020 Mean	1981-2023 Rank*	1972-2023 Record
Tropical Storm Winds ≥ 39 mph (34 kts)	11	17.9	41st (tied with 1 other season)	26 (1986)
Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 74 mph (64 kts)	8	9.6	29th (tied with 8 other seasons)	14 (1994)
Major Tropical Cyclone Winds ≥ 111 mph (96 kts)	3	5.4	34th (tied with 2 other seasons)	10 (1994, 2019)
Accumulated Cyclone Energy ACE×10⁴ kt²	148.2	144.5	17th	264.0 (1994)

Data Description

The data in this report are derived from NCEI's IBTrACS dataset (Knapp et al. 2010; Schreck et al. 2014). IBTrACS tropical cyclone track and intensity data from agencies and sources around the globe. In this report, data from NOAA's National Hurricane Center (NHC) are used for the North Atlantic and East Pacific. The other basins use data from the U.S. Military's Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC).

Historical values use the "best track" data that have been analyzed by forecasters after the season using all available data. Operational procedures and observing systems have changed with time and between regions, which makes these data heterogeneous. Intensity data are generally the most reliable since the early 1970s in the Atlantic (Landsea and Franklin 2013) and since the mid-1980s in other regions (Chu et al. 2002). The number of short-lived storms (≤2 days) has also increased since around 2000 due to improvements in observations and analysis techniques (Landsea et al. 2010).

Values for the current year are provisional values from the operational forecast advisories. IBTrACS obtains these from NCEP's TC Vitals, the NCAR Tropical Cyclone Guidance Project, and NHC provisional data. These values are subject to change during the post-season best track analysis. They also only include 6-hourly storm fixes, which means they may miss special advisories at landfall, peak intensity, etc.

The tropical cyclone seasons in the Southern Hemisphere begin in July and end in June, while the Northern Hemisphere seasons are counted from January to December. Storms are counted in all basins, months, and years in which they occur, which means some storms may appear more than once. However, the global totals only include each storm one time.

References

• Chu, J.-H., C. R. Sampson, A. S. Levine, and E. Fukada, 2002: The joint typhoon warning center tropical cyclone best-tracks, 1945–2000. Naval Research Laboratory, Reference Number NRL/MR/7540-02-16, 22 pp., https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/best-tracks/tc-bt-report.html.
• Knapp, K. R., M. C. Kruk, D. H. Levinson, H. J. Diamond, and C. J. Neumann, 2010: The International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS). Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 91, 363–376, https://doi.org/10.1175/2009BAMS2755.1.
• Landsea, C. W., and J. L. Franklin, 2013: Atlantic Hurricane database uncertainty and presentation of a new database format. Mon. Wea. Rev., 141, 3576–3592, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-12-00254.1.
• ——, G. A. Vecchi, L. Bengtsson, and T. R. Knutson, 2010: Impact of duration thresholds on Atlantic tropical cyclone counts. J. Climate, 23, 2508–2519, https://doi.org/10.1175/2009JCLI3034.1.
• Schreck, C. J., K. R. Knapp, and J. P. Kossin, 2014: The Impact of Best Track Discrepancies on Global Tropical Cyclone Climatologies using IBTrACS. Mon. Wea. Rev., 142, 3881–3899, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-14-00021.1.