Typhoon Maysak to Strengthen in Pacific

By Adam Douty, Meteorologist

March 29,2015; 11:02PM,EDT

 

 

Typhoon Maysak will continue to strengthen, becoming a strong typhoon before bringing life-threatening conditions to Yap Tuesday night.
Maysak first developed into a tropical storm on Friday while located across Micronesia, to the southeast of Guam. The storm has not stopped strengthening since and will become a very powerful typhoon in the coming days.
Yap will be the next significantly populated island to be hit by Maysak. The close encounter, or even landfall, is expected to happen from Tuesday afternoon into Tuesday night, local time.
Maysak will be close to peak intensity at this time with sustained winds expected to be 190 kph (120 mph) or greater, equivalent of Category 3 hurricane. Gusts as high as 240 kph (150 mph) are possible.

Major wind damage across the island is expected, along with flooding rainfall.
After passing Yap, Maysak will soon begin to feel the influence of increasingly strong wind shear as it tracks across the western Philippines Sea. This wind shear will begin a weakening trend as the typhoon approaches the Philippines.
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Despite the weakening trend that is expected through the end of the week, Maysak could still be a typhoon as it begins to affect the eastern Philippines next weekend.
An eventual path into the central or northern Philippines is most likely, bringing the threat for flooding rainfall and damaging winds.