Forecasters with the National Weather Service are urging residents to prepare for potential damage as the developing storm approaches the Marianas, and remember the system could still shift direction.
“It is vital that you do not focus on the exact forecast track. To do so could result in bad decisions and place you or those you are responsible for at greater risk,” the Weather Service said in a statement Thursday evening. “It is too early to provide exact wind and surge forecast values for specific locations. A general concern should be for the possibility of at least widespread damage somewhere within Guam and the Northern Marianas.”
Governors of both Guam and the CNMI placed their islands in Condition of Readiness 3 Thursday, and the National Weather Service issued a typhoon watch for Guam, Rota, Tinian and Saipan.
On Thursday afternoon, the center of TD29 was located near 10.8 north latitude and 158.9 east longitude, about 970 miles east of Guam.
The storm was moving west-northwest at 13 mph. The system is expected to make a turn toward the west over the next couple of days. Storm intensity was 35 mph, and it is expected to begin intensifying Friday.
The storm is expected to pass between Guam and Rota beginning early Sunday morning.
