Typhoon In-fa strengthening east of Marianas

(NWS) Typhoon In-fa (30W) continues to strengthen well east of the Marianas and near the northern Marshall Islands.

In-fa is now a category-1 typhoon with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph. At 7 a.m. ChST In-fa was located 180 miles north-northeast of Enewetak, 435 miles northwest of Kwajalein and 1270 miles east of Guam near 13.6N 163.7E.

After sitting nearly stationary in the Marshall Islands the last several days, it had been tracking northwest at 9 mph. Regarding its wind field, typhoon-force winds extend up to 15 miles from its center, while tropical-storm-force winds extend up to 80 miles from its center.

In-fa is expected to intensify into a Category 2 typhoon later today and could reach Category 3 by early Tuesday morning.

As currently forecast, In-fa’s forward motion will slow overnight as it begins to turn toward the west-northwest or west. It’ll track generally west-northwestward through much of the week with an increase in forward speed.

This current forecast track brings Typhoon In-fa through the northern CNMI near Pagan late on Friday as a category-4 typhoon. At this time, there are no tropical storm or typhoon watches or warnings in effect.