Guam Spared Worst as 150-mph Super Typhoon Champi Passes Just South

Guam narrowly avoided a direct hit early Sunday as Super Typhoon Champi passed about 13 miles south of Merizo with winds reaching 150 mph.

Guam narrowly escaped a direct hit from Super Typhoon Champi early Sunday, Oct. 18, as the storm’s eye passed about 13 miles south of Merizo, according to National Weather Service meteorologist William Aydlett.

Speaking at a Sunday morning briefing, Aydlett stated that Champi had strengthened into a 150-mph super typhoon moving west-northwest at 16 mph. Its relatively fast forward speed and unusually compact wind field limited both the duration and geographic spread of severe conditions across Guam. The eye stayed south of the island, and the most severe part of the eyewall may have remained offshore during its closest approach around 4:30 a.m.

Forecasters monitored small shifts in Champi’s track closely overnight. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center nudged its forecast track slightly south in its 1 a.m. update before moving it back north in its 7 a.m. forecast. The southward shift had raised concerns that the storm might pass directly over southern Guam.

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Although the eye remained offshore, strong winds persisted across the island Sunday morning. Gusts at Guam International Airport reached about 83 to 84 mph, exceeding the 74-mph threshold for typhoon-force winds, while Andersen Air Force Base recorded sustained tropical-storm-force winds with gusts just below typhoon force.

Satellite and radar imagery revealed a wedge of relatively dry air that helped limit rainfall and wind gusts as the storm passed. Although heavy rainbands surrounded the super typhoon and Flash Flood Warnings were issued overnight, Aydlett noted that the threat of widespread significant flooding was easing by Sunday morning.

Coastal observations also showed elevated water levels along Guam’s eastern shoreline, with a tide gauge at Pago Bay recording levels about 3 feet above expected due to southeasterly swells. As Champi moves rapidly away from the Marianas into the Philippine Sea, Aydlett indicated the storm could strengthen further to about 160 mph, or Category 5 strength, by Monday.

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