Super Typhoon Champi passed just south of Guam early Sunday, local time, and pushed its most destructive winds across the island’s southern villages, the National Weather Service office in Tiyan, Guam, said.
The eye passed about 10 miles south of the village of Merizo, forecasters wrote in a discussion issued at 7:04 a.m. Sunday Guam time, which was 4:04 p.m. Saturday in Arkansas. The storm’s band of typhoon-force winds stayed small and tight, they said, so most of the island saw tropical-storm conditions instead.
The Washington Times reported on the storm’s approach Saturday. The weather service had not released any damage reports as of Saturday afternoon, Central time.
What forecasters reported
- Strength: Champi had sustained winds of 150 mph at 7 a.m. Sunday Guam time, when forecasters upgraded it to a super typhoon. It was about 40 miles west-southwest of Guam and moving west-northwest at 16 mph.
- Extreme wind warning: At 3:26 a.m. Sunday Guam time, the weather service warned that the typhoon’s northern eyewall was moving onshore in southern Guam. The warning covered Talofofo, Inarajan, Merizo, Santa Rita and Umatac and called for winds of 115 to 135 mph. Forecasters called it an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation and told residents to take cover in reinforced interior rooms.
- Flooding: Radar showed 2.5 to 5 inches of rain had fallen early Sunday, and a flash flood warning was issued for Guam. A flood watch said Guam could get 4 to 8 inches in all.
- Warnings still in effect: A typhoon warning for Guam and Rota, and a tropical storm warning and typhoon watch for Tinian and Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands.
What comes next
Champi is expected to keep moving west-northwest and slow a little through Monday as it pulls away from the Mariana Islands. Forecasters said it could strengthen to Category 5 over open water by late Monday morning, Guam time. Strong winds over central and northern Guam were expected to ease through Sunday afternoon.
Why it matters
Guam is a U.S. territory with more than 150,000 residents, according to the 2020 census. It is home to Andersen Air Force Base and Naval Base Guam. The weather service said before landfall that Champi could bring devastating winds to much of the island and that commercial power could fail quickly.
Hurricane Trudy off Mexico
In the eastern Pacific, Hurricane Trudy had 100 mph winds Saturday afternoon and was forecast to pass near the coast of west-central Mexico Saturday night and Sunday, the National Hurricane Center said at 3 p.m. Central. A hurricane warning covers the coast from Manzanillo north to Cabo Corrientes.
Sources
- National Weather Service, Tiyan, Guam: Extreme Wind Warning (3:26 a.m. ChST Oct. 18), Super Typhoon Champi Advisory No. 14 (7:17 a.m. ChST Oct. 18), area forecast discussion (7:04 a.m. ChST Oct. 18), flash flood warning and flood watch.
- National Hurricane Center: Hurricane Trudy Advisory No. 18, 3 p.m. CST Oct. 17.
- The Washington Times: Hurricane Trudy approaches Mexico as Typhoon Champi threatens Guam, Oct. 17.
- Population: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census of Guam.
