official data (NWS Guam Typhoon Champi Advisory 12; JTWC Warning 12; GDACS)
Typhoon Champi strengthens to a Category 4 at 130 mph on a track just south of Guam
Champi is closing on Guam and still gaining strength. At 7 PM Saturday Chamorro time, the National Weather Service in Guam put it at 130 mph, 140 miles out, moving west at 15 mph, with typhoon conditions expected on Guam and Rota by Sunday morning.
Key facts
- NWS Guam Adv 12 (7 PM ChST Sat Oct 17 / 5 AM EDT)
- 130 mph, Category 4, 12.6N 146.7E, W at 15 mph, about 140 mi ESE of Guam and 145 mi SE of Rota
- Warnings
- Typhoon Warning, Guam, Rota and adjacent waters; Tropical Storm Warning and Typhoon Watch, Tinian and Saipan (NWS Guam)
- Timing
- Typhoon conditions, winds of 74 mph or more, expected by Sunday morning local time; tropical storm force winds within hours of the 7 PM advisory (NWS Guam)
- Wind field
- Typhoon force winds out to 60 mi; tropical storm force out to 125 mi (NWS Guam)
- Forecast
- Continued intensification; possibly a Super Typhoon within 12 hours; track just south of Guam (NWS Guam). JTWC Warning 12 forecasts 130 kt at 1800 UTC Oct 17 near 13.0N 144.8E and 140 kt by 0600 UTC Oct 18
- GDACS
- Red alert; about 175,000 people exposed to Category 1 winds or higher in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands
All facts (7)
- Next NWS Guam advisory
- Intermediate 11 PM ChST (9 AM EDT Sat); scheduled 2 AM ChST Sun (12 PM EDT Sat)
This general forecast track will take Champi just south of Guam as a strong Category 4 typhoon.
NWS Guam, Typhoon Champi Advisory 12, Oct 17
Note
At 7 PM Chamorro Standard Time Saturday, October 17, which was 5 AM EDT, the National Weather Service office in Tiyan, Guam, placed Typhoon Champi near 12.6 North, 146.7 East. That is about 140 miles east-southeast of Guam and 145 miles southeast of Rota. Champi was moving west at 15 mph with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph, and the office upgraded it to a Category 4 typhoon in that advisory. Typhoon force winds reach 60 miles from the center and tropical storm force winds reach 125 miles. A Typhoon Warning is in effect for Guam, Rota and the adjacent waters, meaning typhoon conditions are expected by Sunday morning. Tinian and Saipan are under a Tropical Storm Warning and a Typhoon Watch, with typhoon force winds possible there if the track shifts north. NWS Guam expects Champi to hold its westward course with a slight slowdown through Sunday, passing just south of Guam as a strong Category 4, and says it could become a Super Typhoon within the next 12 hours. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center's Warning 12 had 115 knot winds at 0600 UTC and forecasts 130 knots at 1800 UTC near 13.0 North, 144.8 East, close to Guam itself, then 140 knots a day out. The Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System has a Red alert on the storm and estimates about 175,000 people exposed to Category 1 winds or higher. The island has been here before. The warning says the worst of it arrives by Sunday morning.
Why it matters
Guam and Rota, U.S. territory with roughly 175,000 people in GDACS's Category 1 wind footprint, are under a Typhoon Warning for a Category 4 that forecasters expect to keep strengthening as it passes.
Sources
- NWS Tiyan, Guam: Typhoon Champi (29W) Public Advisory 12
- JTWC Typhoon 29W (Champi) Warning 12
- GDACS Red alert TC CHAMPI-26
- Hero image: Joint Typhoon Warning Center
Primary + secondary attribution as listed.
More: Hurricanes & typhoons
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