U.S. bases on Guam resumed TCCOR 4 Thursday afternoon. Sinlaku downgraded to low-end Category 3-equivalent status, still crawling slowly northwest of Tinian and Saipan. (Joint Typhoon Warning Center)
7 p.m. Thursday, April 16, CHamoru time: U.S. bases on Guam are back in seasonal Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness 4. Sinlaku remains a low-end Category 3-equivalent typhoon and cleanup and repair efforts have long been underway. Sinlaku was more destructive simply because of how long it stayed around.
At 4 p.m. CHamoru time, Sinlaku, shown in infrared looping imagery, was about 200 miles north-northwest of Saipan, 205 north-northwest of Tinian and 300 miles north of Naval Base Guam, was holding steady at 115-mph sustained winds and 145-mph gusts, and picked up some forward speed, moving north-northeast at 8 mph.
A typhoon warning remained raised for Rota, Tinian and Saipan, according to the National Weather Service on Guam. Typhoon-force winds extend 90 miles from center and tropical storm-force winds 290 miles northeast and 255 elsewhere.
Still plenty of gusty winds and sideways rain. People are being encouraged to stay out of the water and for good reason. This system was and still is a bad one, the most intense system to strike Tinian and Saipan since Super Typhoon Yutu, more than seven years ago. Perhaps worse than that.
Stay tuned to the Guam Homeland Security/Office of Civil Defense and Joint Region Marianas official Facebook pages in case of any changes and to monitor cleanup activity. Storm Tracker continues to have the watch. Keep your safe on, Marianas!
