Typhoon Dolphin Moving Away From Guam, Rota Island After First Direct Hit Since 2002

Linda Lam
Published: May 17,2015



 
Typhoon Dolphin is beginning to weaken and is now the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane, as of Sunday night mainland U.S. time. Dolphin reached its peak intensity as a Category 5 super typhoon on Saturday with top winds estimated to be 160 mph.

Infrared Satellite Image

(MORE: Typhoon Dolphin News/Impacts | Hurricane Central)
A western Pacific tropical cyclone is named a "super typhoon" when maximum sustained winds reach 150 mph; on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, the minimum threshold for Category 5 is 157 mph.
Dolphin has made its anticipated right turn and continues to head on a northerly track.
Dolphin will eventually round the western edge of a subtropical high-pressure system and begin to meet the mid-latitude upper-atmospheric westerlies. This will accelerate the typhoon toward the northeast, with steady weakening.
While the typhoon will curve well east of the Japanese mainland, Dolphin may take a close swipe at Iwo To (Iwo Jima) on Tuesday, local time. Iwo Jima, famous for its role in World War II, is currently uninhabited except for military personnel.
Dolphin's eye passed through the Rota Channel between Guam and Rota Island early Friday evening, local time, delivering the typhoon's strongest winds in the eyewall to both locations.
Andersen Air Force Base on the northeast side of Guam clocked a peak wind gust of 106 mph just before 7 p.m. local time on Friday. Guam is 14 hours ahead of U.S. EDT. Just before 8 p.m. local time, Andersen AFB was reporting peak sustained winds of 84 mph in the southern eyewall of the typhoon.
Rota Island, about 45 miles northeast of Guam, was hit by the northern eyewall of Dolphin. Storm chasers Jim Edds and James Reynolds are located there and sending reports. With a population of about 2,500, many of Rota's buildings are made of concrete.

Dolphin was a strong Category 2 equivalent storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale when the typhoon passed near the islands late Friday night, Guam local time with maximum sustained winds estimated at 110 mph. However, the typhoon then began its forecasted strengthening, thankfully after its eyewall was to the west of Guam and Rota.
(MORE: Hurricane Versus Typhoon)

An Exceptionally Active Western Pacific Basin

Direct hits on Guam, a 212 square mile island about 1,570 miles south-southeast of Tokyo, when the center of circulation passes close enough to a location to deliver its strongest winds, are more rare.
Weather Underground's Director of Meteorology, Dr. Jeff Masters says the last typhoon to do so on Guam was Super Typhoon Pongsona on December 8, 2002, packing winds of 150 mph.
Dolphin first formed on May 5, making it the earliest formation of the seventh named tropical cyclone of the year on record in the western Pacific, according to Digital Typhoon. That's 10 days earlier than the previous record of May 19, 1971.
"On average, the seventh named storm doesn't form until the third week in July," says Dr. Masters. Masters says only two storms typically form by this time of year in the western Pacific basin.
(MASTERS BLOG: Hyperactive Western Pacific)
The peak threat in Guam from tropical cyclones typically occurs from July to November.
Although most storms affecting Guam are still in the development stage, Guam has experienced direct impacts of full strength typhoons and even super typhoons.
Guam was impacted by Typhoon Vongfong just last October with downed power lines and blown transformers caused power outages around the island.
(MORE: Typhoon Vongfong Barreled Into Guam)
The strongest wind gust recorded in Guam was 170 mph during Super Typhoon Paka in December 1997. Approximately 60 percent of the homes on Guam saw major damage and power outages were island-wide.
However, Typhoon Karen in November 1962 is regarded as one of the most powerful tropical cyclones to strike Guam and is one of the most destructive events in the island's history. Karen had estimated wind gusts up to 185 mph leaving 95 percent of homes damaged or destroyed. Eleven people were killed.
Senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
MORE: Typhoon Vongfong Hits Guam, Mariana Islands (PHOTOS)