Strong Wind — Marshall Islands, Guam

2023-02-08 to 2023-02-09 · Marshall Islands, Guam

Event narrative

Trade winds with sustained winds around 20 knots with the airport observation at Majuro, with the airport reporting the highest sustained wind of 29 knots at 0751ChST on the 8th. There were also several gusts around 32 to 33 knots reported through out the 8th and 9th. A house located in the village of Lekre on Majuro atoll had its tin roof blown, which also hit a power pole and lines causing a power outage for several hours. A family of 7 was living in the house but no injuries were reported. Based on a photo posted on social media, the house looked to be of simple wooden construction with a bare interior and the room missing most of the tin roof. Considering the construction of the house and roof, max wind gusts were estimated to be up to 39 knots.

Wider weather episode

A large swath of winds extending from the Marshall islands continuing eastward into the Central Pacific and even reaching up to Hawaii, created by a strong pressure gradient as a high pressure system passed north of Hawaii and the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) extending across the Pacific and reaching the Marshall Islands.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1084233. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.