Satellites observed powerful Super Typhoon Mawar heading towards the US island territory of Guam on Wednesday (May 24).
Time satellites followed the Category 4 storm as it produced winds of up to 140 mph (225 km/h) while moving northwest past Guam on Wednesday, knocking out power for large parts of the island and urging the White House to declare a state of emergency for the territory to provide disaster relief. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said on Twitter that it was the strongest storm to hit the island in six decades.
Satellites watched the storm roll over Guam this week, swirling and swirling above the open waters of the Pacific Ocean. In satellite images, the super typhoon dwarfs the island as it moves northwest toward the Philippine Sea.
NOAA shared a four-day time lapse of infrared images captured by Japan’s Himawari 9 weather satellite. In the animation, that NOAA shared on Twitterthe violent whirlwind of the storm can be seen as it rolls over the Pacific Ocean.
Infrared imagery from the @NOAA/NASA #SuomiNPP satellite shows the intensity of Super Typhoon #Mawar as it approaches Guam. The storm’s eyewall cut off the northern tip of the island early this morning, bringing damaging winds, deadly storm surge and torrents… pic.twitter.com/2bCpqB8fkTMay 24, 2023
Meanwhile, the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-3 satellite which is part of the European Union Copernicus program watched Super Typhoon Mawar in visible lightrevealing the massive size of the storm as it hit Guam.
#ImageOfTheDay#Maware 🌀 is ➡️a super typhoon, equivalent to a category four hurricane➡️ one of the strongest typhoons in recent years in the Pacific Ocean➡️ currently hitting the island of Guam, before heading towards the Philippines⬇️Yesterday’s #Sentinel3🇪🇺 🛰️ image pic.twitter.com/EwDetKgZdtMay 24, 2023
Super Typhoon Mawar is expected to intensify through Thursday (25 May) as it tracks west-northwest at 6 mph (9.6 kph), according to the National Weather Service.
Guam is located about 1,500 miles (2,400 km) east of the Philippines and has a population of about 150,000. The island is also home to two major US military installations, Guam Naval Base and Andersen Air Force Base.