Super Typhoon Sinlaku strengthened into the strongest storm on the planet this year on Sunday, churning toward the Mariana Islands with sustained winds of 180 mph and gusts up to 220 mph. Typhoon warnings were in effect for Rota, Tinian and Saipan, while Guam was under a tropical storm warning.
The storm was expected to reach the islands late Monday into Tuesday, with forecasters projecting sustained winds of 155 to 160 mph by the time it arrives. Schools and government offices across the islands were closed Sunday, shelters opened, and United Airlines and Micronesian Air Connection canceled flights through midweek.
The warnings cover a small U.S. territory with a big burden. About 50,000 people live on Rota, Tinian and Saipan, which sit about 6,000 miles west of San Francisco and closer to Tokyo than to Honolulu. The islands sit in the storm’s path as Sinlaku threatens to span 400 miles wide, broad enough to bring damaging weather far beyond its eye.
The National Weather Service expected 15 to 20 inches of rain for Guam and Rota from Monday through Thursday, and 8 to 15 inches for Tinian and Saipan over the same period. Hazardous surf was expected to build to around 15 feet across exposed reefs, and storm surge could add coastal inundation and beach erosion into the second half of the week.
Guam, home to major U.S. military installations, was already under a tropical storm warning as the system approached. Sinlaku has the look of a strong Category 4 or Category 5 hurricane equivalent, and the immediate question is not whether the islands will feel the storm, but how much of the forecast’s worst-case damage they can keep off shore.
