Guam narrowly escaped a direct hit from Category 4 Typhoon Champi early Sunday morning after the powerful storm made a last-minute turn westward, keeping its most destructive winds largely offshore.
National Weather Service Guam meteorologist Landon Aydlett said Champi passed closest to the U.S. territory at 4:26am Sunday, October 18, about 16km south of Merizo in southern Guam and 33km south of the island’s central area.
The typhoon was packing maximum sustained winds of 225km/h when it passed Guam.
“Certainly, we had a near miss of this typhoon in all its intensity,” Aydlett said during an early morning weather briefing.
“We’ve been very fortunate this morning.”
Aydlett said the situation had become increasingly dangerous on Saturday as Champi rapidly intensified, raising fears that it could reach super typhoon strength with winds of 241km/h before reaching Guam.
However, an eyewall replacement cycle overnight and dry air entering the storm helped limit further intensification.
The storm also turned west just before reaching Guam, keeping the eyewall largely offshore and sparing central and northern Guam from the worst conditions.
Aydlett described the storm as having a compact wind field, meaning its most destructive winds were concentrated relatively close to its center.
At the Guam International Airport, sustained winds ranged from 72 to 88km/h, with gusts approaching 128km/h.
Andersen Air Force Base recorded similar sustained winds, with gusts reaching 112km/h, while Apra Harbor reported sustained winds of 80 to 90km/h and gusts approaching 112km/h.
Aydlett said winds of 129 to 148km/h had been detected above the island, but the absence of widespread heavy rain bands prevented much of that wind energy from reaching the surface.
Dry air entering Champi also reduced rainfall during its approach, limiting the flash flooding initially feared across Guam.
Nevertheless, the National Weather Service extended Guam’s flash flood warning until 7:30am Sunday as heavy showers and thunderstorms continued moving across the island.
Southern Guam remained the hardest-hit area, with an extreme wind warning in effect between approximately 4am and 5:30am.
Aydlett said dangerous tropical storm- and typhoon-force winds would continue across Guam through Sunday morning and into the afternoon despite the storm moving away.
“This was looking very grim for us over the last 12 hours,” he said.
“But a last-minute dive to the west kept those strongest typhoon, major typhoon-force winds just offshore and over far southern Guam.”
He warned residents against venturing outside while hazardous conditions persisted.
“Stay in safe shelter. Don’t let your guard down.”
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
The CNMI also avoided the worst of Champi, although Rota, Tinian, and Saipan remained under varying storm warnings early Sunday.
Aydlett said Saipan and Tinian experienced considerably weaker conditions than Guam.
At the Saipan International Airport, sustained winds ranged from 46 to 55km/h, with gusts reaching 83km/h.
The National Weather Service also discontinued the flash flood watch for Saipan and Tinian after determining that significant flooding was no longer anticipated.
Rota, the southernmost inhabited island of the CNMI, remained under Typhoon Condition I, with a typhoon warning still in effect.
Saipan and Tinian remained under Typhoon Condition III, with tropical storm warnings and typhoon watches still in place.
According to the CNMI’s 5am Sunday bulletin, Champi was approximately 144km south-southwest of Rota, 249km south-southwest of Tinian, and 265km south-southwest of Saipan.
Typhoon-force winds extended 40km from the storm’s center, while tropical storm-force winds extended as far as 201km
The typhoon was moving west at 22km and was expected to continue pulling away from the Mariana Islands.
The CNMI has been battered by successive major storms this year, including Super Typhoon Sinlaku in April and Super Typhoon Bavi in July, which caused extensive damage to infrastructure, homes, and agriculture.
While Champi’s last-minute shift spared the islands from a potentially catastrophic direct strike, authorities continued urging residents to remain indoors until dangerous winds subsided.
