Super Typhoon Sinlaku Targets U.S. Islands in the Pacific
Destructive winds, heavy rain, and flooding expected as the strongest storm of the year approaches the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam.
Quick Look
Super Typhoon Sinlaku, the year's strongest storm with 173 mph winds, is heading towards the U.S. territories of the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam, prompting emergency declarations and warnings.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Super typhoons are the most intense tropical cyclones in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, equivalent to Category 4 or 5 hurricanes, with winds of at least 150 mph. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center has been naming these storms since 1947.
A dangerous super typhoon in the Pacific Ocean is barreling toward a group of remote U.S. islands.
Super Typhoon Sinlaku is expected to make landfall Tuesday in the Northern Mariana Islands and bring destructive winds, widespread heavy rain and flooding, the National Weather Service said Monday.
Guam, a U.S. territory with American military installations, also could see damaging winds beginning Monday and is under a tropical storm warning. The U.S. Coast Guard issued flood and high wind warnings over the weekend.
The tropical typhoon — the strongest on Earth so far this year — was producing sustained winds of 173 mph (278 kph) on Monday as it neared the islands of Rota, Tinian and Saipan, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.
While it's expected to weaken slightly over the next few days, Sinlaku should cross near the islands as a Category 4 or 5 typhoon.
In Guam, where Typhoon Mawar knocked out power for days in 2023, U.S. military officials warned personnel to prepare for the storm and shelter in place.
President Donald Trump on Saturday approved emergency disaster declarations for Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, allowing for additional help with emergency services.
A super typhoon is a name given to the strongest tropical cyclones that brew in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, where Earth’s most intense storms usually form.
Monitored by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Guam, super typhoons are the equivalent of category 4 or 5 hurricanes in the Atlantic, with winds of at least 150 mph (240 kph). There have been more than 300 super typhoons identified since the warning center started using that name in 1947.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The typhoon will cause significant damage to infrastructure in the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam.
Very likely · Within days
Emergency services will be strained in the immediate aftermath of the storm.
Likely · Within days
Presidential disaster declarations will lead to federal aid for recovery efforts.
Very likely · Within weeks
Open Questions
- What is the current status of infrastructure on the islands?
- What is the projected path after landfall?
- What specific military assets are located in the affected areas?
- What is the estimated economic impact of the typhoon?
