Typhoons in Guam

Typhoons occurfrequently in Guam. On average, they happen about 6 times a year. The hardest hit cities are Inarajan Village and Agat Village.

The typhoon season in the Pacific usually begins with less severe storms in April and does not end until November. The most severe typhoons usually occur in August and September.

The most severe typhoon to make landfall in Guam in the past 12 months was »Mawar«. It reached a wind speed of up to 280 km/h on May 26, 2023 at 1:00 am local time near Agat Village and was 139 kilometers in diameter at the time. According to the internationally accepted Saffir-Simpson classification, this corresponded to a category 5 typhoon. On the open sea, speeds of up to 294 km/h were measured.

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Back to overview: Guam

Current super typhoon: Mawar

On May 20, 2023 at 10:00 am, typhoon »Mawar« formed in the Northwest Pacific with an initial wind speed of 46 km/h. The storm system initially moved north at 6 km/h and reached a diameter of 457 kilometers. On May 26, 2023 at 10:00 am, it reached its highest wind speed to date of 294 kilometers per hour. This corresponds to a category 5 typhoon.

On June 2, 2023 at 4:00 pm, Mawar made landfall near the city of Naze in Japan. At that time, the typhoon had a wind speed of 83 km/h and a diameter of 343 kilometers.

Mawar has since subsided and is no longer under observation by the authorities. Its last position was about 286 km southwest of Japan on June 3rd at 4:00 pm.

Current satellite image of the western Pacific

Move the timeline below the image to see previous shots.
09.06.2023 © CIMSS University of Wisconsin-Madison

Most violent typhoons in Guam since 2018

Mawar: May 20 to June 3, 2023

Wind speed:

max. 294 km/h

on land:

max. 280 km/h

Diameter:

max. 915 km

Air pressure:

below 897 mbar

Saffir-Simpson scale:

category 5

Most Affected Cities
Inarajan Village
Yigo Village
Dededo Village
Piti Village
Agat Village

Malakas: April 7-15, 2022

Wind speed:

max. 213 km/h

Diameter:

max. 826 km

Air pressure:

below 939 mbar

Saffir-Simpson scale:

category 4

Wind speed:

max. 120 km/h

Diameter:

max. 130 km

Air pressure:

below 987 mbar

Saffir-Simpson scale:

category 1

Most Affected Cities
Merizo Village

Champi: June 19-28, 2021

Wind speed:

max. 120 km/h

on land:

max. 65 km/h

Diameter:

max. 574 km

Air pressure:

below 980 mbar

Saffir-Simpson scale:

category 1

Most Affected Cities
Inarajan Village
Merizo Village
Agat Village

Goni: October 25 to November 6, 2020

Wind speed:

max. 309 km/h

Diameter:

max. 611 km

Air pressure:

below 888 mbar

Saffir-Simpson scale:

category 5

The typhoon did not make direct landfall in Guam. On October 26th, 2020 at 1:00 am it had the shortest distance at about 153 km southeast of Merizo Village.

Kammuri: November 24 to December 6, 2019

Wind speed:

max. 217 km/h

on land:

max. 115 km/h

Diameter:

max. 1000 km

Air pressure:

below 940 mbar

Saffir-Simpson scale:

category 4

Most Affected Cities
Inarajan Village
Merizo Village

Fengshen: November 9-18, 2019

Wind speed:

max. 213 km/h

Diameter:

max. 463 km

Air pressure:

below 947 mbar

Saffir-Simpson scale:

category 4

The typhoon did not make direct landfall in Guam. On November 14th, 2019 at 10:00 pm it had the shortest distance at about 288 km northwest of Yigo Village.

Bualoi: October 17-26, 2019

Wind speed:

max. 259 km/h

on land:

max. 217 km/h

Diameter:

max. 889 km

Eye:

max. 56 km

Air pressure:

below 922 mbar

Saffir-Simpson scale:

category 5

Most Affected Cities
Yigo Village

Hagibis: October 4-14, 2019

Wind speed:

max. 296 km/h

Diameter:

max. 1389 km

Eye:

max. 148 km

Air pressure:

below 896 mbar

Saffir-Simpson scale:

category 5

Most Affected Cities
Yigo Village
Dededo Village
Asan-Maina Village

Mitag: September 24 to October 5, 2019

Wind speed:

max. 143 km/h

Diameter:

max. 1111 km

Air pressure:

below 965 mbar

Saffir-Simpson scale:

category 1

The typhoon did not make direct landfall in Guam. On September 26th, 2019 at 7:00 pm it had the shortest distance at about 55 km southeast of Merizo Village.

Peipah: September 12-17, 2019

Wind speed:

max. 65 km/h

Diameter:

max. 556 km

Air pressure:

below 999 mbar

Saffir-Simpson scale:

tropical storm

The typhoon did not make direct landfall in Guam. On September 15th, 2019 at 7:00 pm it had the shortest distance at about 327 km northwest of Yigo Village.

Krosa: August 4-17, 2019

Wind speed:

max. 185 km/h

on land:

max. 65 km/h

Diameter:

max. 1759 km

Air pressure:

below 945 mbar

Saffir-Simpson scale:

category 3

Most Affected Cities
Dededo Village

Wutip: February 18 to March 2, 2019

Wind speed:

max. 269 km/h

Diameter:

max. 889 km

Eye:

max. 93 km

Air pressure:

below 895 mbar

Saffir-Simpson scale:

category 5

Most Affected Cities
Inarajan Village
Merizo Village
Umatac Village
Agat Village

These evaluations are based on data from the National Centers for Environmental Information of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Individual data have been summarized or translated.

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