Hurricane (Typhoon) — Rota, Guam

2014-10-05 to 2014-10-06 · Rota, Guam

Event narrative

On the 1st of October scatterometer data depicted a circulation just east of Kosrae. The circulation moved slowly northwest, being located 150 miles northeast of Pohnpei on the morning of the 3rd, became sufficiently organized to be classified as Tropical Depression 19W. Further intensification during that afternoon allowed the depression to become Tropical Storm 19W and during that evening it made it's closest approach to Pohnpei as it passed 120 miles north of the island. Most of the tropical storm force winds were found north of the tropical storm. The radius of tropical storm force winds south of the system did not extend as far as Pohnpei. No reports of damage were reported from that island. By the 4th the system was named Tropical Storm Vongfong and further intensification allowed it to reach typhoon intensity. The typhoon passed 285 miles north of Chuuk on the morning of the 5th. This was too far to cause any ill effect on the island. The typhoon continued its trek northeast and passed across the Marianas Islands on the 6th. During the early morning hours of the 6th...between 3 and 4 am...the eye of Typhoon Vongfong passes just north of Rota. Radar data showed that the eyewall of the typhoon probably passed over parts of this island. Brief wind shear caused some weakening of the typhoon as it passed over the Marianas. Seventy percent of the island of Rota briefly lost power. The airport at Rota was not open so unfortunately no wind data was reported. The highest wind gust observed across central Guam at the National Weather Service Office was 43 knots (49 mph), at 228 am. Across northern Guam at Andersen Air Force Base the highest wind gust was 61 knots (70mph) at 308 am. Across Saipan the highest wind gust was 52 knots (60 mph) at 203 am. On Guam only minor flooding and sporadic power outages were reported across the island. Downed trees were also reported in a few areas of the island. In Yigo, four employees of the mayor helped rescue a family of 17 people from flooding in that village. the northern half of the island reported the most rain as a major rain band pushed across that area before sunrise. Andersen Air Force Base on the northern tip of Guam received over 7 inches of rain, while the National Weather Service Office in the central part of the island received only just over 3 inches of rain. Despite the wind and rain, no deaths or serious injury was reported across the Marianas. The airport in Guam reported some canceled flights. The aircraft carrier George Washington, stopped at Guam for a few days, had to leave two days earlier because of the typhoon. This cut short Liberty for the ship's crew and this hurt local businesses slightly.

Wider weather episode

Typhoon Vongfong passed across the Marianas the first part of October.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 546021. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.