Sinlaku weakens but remains dangerous at 175 mph

By Jayvee Vallejera

Guam remains under both a tropical storm warning and a typhoon watch. While the threat of typhoon-force winds has significantly diminished for Guam, this remains a serious weather event, the Joint Information Office said.

The Guam Power Authority has deployed its crew to restore power in multiple areas, mostly in the southern part of the island, where transmission lines have been damaged.

"As wind gusts increase, additional outages are likely.  Crews will stand down 

when line supervisors out in the field determine it is necessary, but so far continue to work on recovery," GPA said.

GPA said the system has now severed itself between the north and the south but power continues to flow to about 50 percent of its distribution feeders.

"Our major objective is to avoid a total system blackout because it would provide a quicker recovery for everyone," GPA said.

As of 8 a.m., Sinlaku was located 14.1N and 146.7E, 140 miles east-northeast of Guam. It is moving northwest at 7 mph with maximum sustained winds of 165 mph. Gusts between 70 to 80 mph have already been recorded on Guam.

Super Typhoon Sinlaku has weakened slightly but remains dangerous at 175 mph and is now predicted to pass through the mostly uninhabited islands of Alamagan, Pagan and Agrihan in the Northern Mariana Islands.

National Weather Service Guam said in its 6 a.m. advisory that Sinlaku is forecast to gradually weaken through Wednesday, but it is still expected to cross the Marianas near or over Tinian and Saipan as a Category 4 or Category 5 storm.

Sinlaku was reported yesterday as having maximum sustained winds of 180 mph.

What to Expect for Guam

• Tropical storm force winds of 39 mph or more are expected to continue until Wednesday afternoon.

• Damaging, tropical storm force winds, sustained at 40 to 60 mph, with gusts 60 to 80 mph, and heavy rain are expected through early evening Tuesday.

• Peak conditions Tuesday, with heavy rain bands alongside destructive winds.

• Closest point of approach to Guam is between 2-4 p.m. Tuesday.

The super typhoon was reported at 6 a.m. to be moving northwest at 9 mph. NWS amended that an hour later to just 7 mph.

Sinlaku is expected to maintain this northwest course and speed through Wednesday before making a turn to the north, passing through the northern CNMI during the latter half of the week.

The tropical storm warnings for Alamagan, Pagan and Agrihan have now been upgraded to typhoon warnings.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center’s forecast track for Sinlaku says it will pass near or over Tinian and Saipan.

According to today’s 7:58 a.m. NWS advisory, the addition of the three remote islands of the CNMI to the typhoon warnings is the only update at this time.

No other changes have been made to the previous watches and warnings for the CNMI and Guam: typhoon warnings remain hoisted over Saipan, Tinian, Rota, Alamagan, Pagan and Agrihan.

Guam remains under a typhoon watch and tropical storm warning. Essentially, a typhoon watch means potential danger within 48 hours, while a tropical storm warning means the threat is imminent within 36 hours.

Typhoon force winds extend outward from the center up to 80 miles. Tropical storm force winds extend outward from the center up to 290 miles to the east and up to 215 miles to the west.

Typhoon force winds of 130 to 155 mph and 175 mph gusts are expected to start reaching Tinian and Saipan this afternoon. 

Rota will see strong tropical-storm force winds of 60 to 70 mph, with gusts up to 90 miles per hour around the same time period.

Guam’s forecast remains the same of tropical storm-force winds of 50 to 60 mph, with gusts of 70 mph through tonight and slightly weakening to 45 to 55 miles per hour on Wednesday.

While Sinlaku is forecast to gradually weaken through the next several days, it is still expected to cross the Marianas near or over Tinian and Saipan as a Category 4 or Category 5 storm.

NWS says Alamagan, Pagan and Agrihan can expect similar conditions as Tinian and Saipan, possibly even stronger when Sinlaku passes through them after Wednesday.

Heavy rainfall with locally heavier showers are still possible across the entire region, and seas continue to build to 20 feet, NWS said.