Hurricane · Guam

Typhoon Sinlaku developed in northern Chuuk State, northwest of Chuuk, starting as a tropical depression 50 miles north of Chuuk at 1000ChST April 6 and becoming a tropical storm 0700ChST April 10. Sinlaku developed into a CAT 1 typhoon near Fananu on 1300ChST April 11 and continue to strength as it pulled away from Chuuk State. Fananu would exit typhoon force winds 1900 April 11. Chuuk Lagoon would only experience tropical storm wind, starting around 1300ChST April 10 and remain there until 1900ChST April 12 as Sinlaku pulled away to the northwest. Weather Service Office Chuuk on Weno would report a peak wind of 32 mph gusting to 64 mph at 0200ChST April 11. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center had the tropical storm winds exiting Chuuk State around 0700 April 13. Official reports out of Chuuk State reported 9 deaths and 5 injuries. Based on latest reports, 6 direct deaths were related to two capsized boats near Weno, with reporting suggesting all were men. One death was due to a tree falling onto a man. For indirect deaths, one was due to a tree blocking access to the hospital for a pregnant woman, and one was a man due to unknown causes. Chuuk State government estimate home and crop damages total around 96 million USD.

What eventually became Super Typhoon Sinlaku (04W) originally crossed the Date Line at 4N around March 29, with a circulation at 4.2N 179.5E. This circulation would struggle to organize as it drifted westward and the circulation would redevelop south of Kosrae on April 4 near 2N164E.By 0000 UTC on April 6, Invest 90W had formed south-southwest of Pohnpei/southeast of Chuuk near 4.5N 159.8E. By April 8th the new circulation had lifted northwest to a position northeast of Chuuk. At 0200 UTC on April 9th 90W was upgraded from sub-low to Medium by JTWC. Aided by a strong westerly wind burst of 30 to 35kt, by 1800 UTC on the 9th of April a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert was issued for 90W as it continued to rapidly organize. By 1200 UTC on the April 9, 90W became Tropical Depression (TD) 04W as it drifted slowly west to a position north of Chuuk (roughly 50 miles north). By 0000 UTC on April 10, 04W was upgraded to Tropical Storm (TS) Sinlaku (04W) and was located roughly 70 miles northwest of Chuuk. AT 0000 UTC on the April 10, TS Sinlaku was located at 8.2N 151.2E, at 08:22 UTC, there was a voluntary ship ob of westerly winds at 30 KT at 5.87N 147E., and westerly winds of 35kt at 2.1N 158.1E. By 0000 UTC on the April 11, Sinlaku became a typhoon (TY), nearly stationary about 80 miles northwest of Chuuk. Sinlaku continued to meander in the area as it strengthened northwest of Chuuk, becoming a super typhoon (STY) by 0000 UTC April 12. STY Sinlaku continued to strengthen as it moved north then northwest toward the Marianas. Sinlaku continued to move slowly NW with maximum sustained winds of 175 MPH on the 12th. At 1140 UTC on April 14 the western edge of the eye wall impacted Tinian and Saipan. The wind field continued to expand with Sinlaku, resulting in the maximum sustained wind and maximum gust occurring on April 14th in Guam. Sinlaku continued to move through the Marianas slowly, maintaining TS warning for Guam for 4 days. Sinlaku turned north, then north-northeast, affecting the islands of Alamagan, Pagan and Agrihan in the far northern CNMI. Sinlaku finally moved out of the northern CNMI on April 18. Sinlaku became an extratropical cyclone on April 20, 2026. There were 17 deaths (direct and indirect) and 6 injuries associated with STY Sinlaku. Nine fatalities (7 direct/2 indirect or unknown) and direct 5 injuries were reported in Chuuk State. For the Mariana Islands, 2 indirect deaths were reported on Guam, while 6 direct deaths and 1 injury was reported in the CNMI. Chuuk State government estimate home and crop damages total around 96 million USD. On Guam, estimate 434.5 million USD damage to public property and 2 million USD for crop losses. Initial estimates from FEMA estimate damage cost exceed 1 billion USD across the CNMI.