Super Typhoon Sinlaku could bring significant impacts to US islands in Pacific Ocean
A super typhoon is expected to impact a group of remote U.S. islands in the Pacific Ocean, with the National Weather Service warning of potentially "devastating damage."
Super Typhoon Sinlaku is forecast to track close to Guam and potentially bring significant impacts to the Northern Mariana Islands over the coming days.
According to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, Sinlaku has been classified as a Super Typhoon with maximum sustained winds of 165 mph -- a Category 5 strength on the Saffir-Simpson Scale as of Tuesday morning local time.
Sinlaku is expected to track north of Guam, grazing the U.S. territory with high-end tropical-storm-force winds. A tropical storm warning has been issued for Guam for sustained winds of 50 to 60 mph and gusts of up to 70 mph, as well as waves out to sea up to 15 to 25 feet through at least Wednesday morning.
As of the latest forecast from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, Sinlaku is then expected to track near or over the islands of Tinian and Saipan -- among the principal islands of the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands -- Tuesday night local time. It is expected to cross as a Category 4 or 5 storm, according to the NWS.
Typhoon-force winds are expected to start reaching Tinian and Saipan by Tuesday afternoon local time, the NWS said.
The NWS in Guam has issued typhoon warnings for both Tinian and Saipan for sustained winds likely around 125 to 145 mph with gusts to 160 mph through at least Wednesday evening. The agency warns that "devastating damage is possible if this forecast track and wind speed holds."
Coastal inundations of at least 5 to 8 feet are likely for Tinian and Saipan -- though winds and wave action could drive water 10 to 15 feet higher than the water level along windward-facing beaches and reefs, according to the NWS.
The NWS office in Guam has also issued a typhoon warning for the island of Rota -- the southernmost island of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands -- for sustained winds possibly up to 75 mph through at least Wednesday evening.
Sinlaku will also likely bring heavy and intense rainfall to some of the Northern Mariana Islands, with rainfall amounts upwards of 15 to 25 inches likely near the center of the system and locally higher amounts as it tracks over the Northern Marianas Islands. Flood watches remain in effect for Guam, Rota, Tinian and Saipan through Wednesday morning for the heavy rainfall.
President Donald Trump has approved an emergency disaster declaration for Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, which will assist in disaster relief efforts, according to FEMA.
Typhoons are the same weather phenomenon as hurricanes. In the western Pacific Ocean, they are called typhoons, while in the eastern Pacific and Atlantic oceans, they are called hurricanes.
