With typhoon warnings in effect for Guam, Rota, Tinian and Saipan, residents were urged to be in safe shelter from sunset Sunday to sunrise Tuesday.
The forecast “overall took a little bit of a southward shift, as it is expected to pass through the Mariana Islands on Monday,” Landon Aydlett of the National Weather Service said during a 5 p.m. Facebook live webcast Saturday.
“We're looking at an eye around 20 nautical miles wide. That would encompass all of the island of Rota, or all of the island of Tinian, if it were to pass directly over.”
Aydlett said that happened with Super Typhoon Yutu in 2018 and Typhoon Sinlaku in April.
As of Saturday afternoon, the forecast called for the storm to pass north of Rota, but typhoon conditions were expected on all of the islands.
There was still some uncertainty about the exact forecast track, as the system was expected to turn to the west-northwest at some point. Depending on when that turn is made, the storm could make a direct hit on an island in the Marianas or pass between the islands.
But even if it were to pass near Saipan, Guam would see significant impacts, according to National Weather Service forecasters.
A direct hit on any island could be catastrophic, they warned.
Conditions are expected to deteriorate throughout Sunday, with the storm making its passage through the island chain on Monday morning, Aydlett said.
