Nida becomes a typhoon; not a threat to Guam

Typhoon Nida intensified in the western Pacific overnight, reaching typhoon status with 75 MPH winds. Currently, the storm is essentially stationary. Forward motion is expected to pick up later in the day with the typhoon heading in a northwesterly direction. 5-day forecast track shows Nida to be heading towards southern Japan at the moment. Any impact on Japan will be over a week away and the storm track can shift over the next few days so people in the area need to keep a weather eye out.

Nida upgraded to typhoon (KUAM)

The weather system in our area has now been upgraded to a typhoon. Typhoon Nida is located 345 miles south of Guam, and remains nearly stationary. The National Weather Service reports that Nida is expected to turn more towards the northwest and speed up to around 12 miles per hour over the next 24 hours.

Earlier reports indicated that Nida had moved closer to Guam. Now, indications are that Guam will not be affected by the storm. The primary concern is for islands associated with the state of YAP. Small atolls are close enough that storm bands and even some heavy winds could have a significant effect.

Storm not expected to threaten Guam (KUAM)

It looks like Guam will be spared typhoon-force winds as Tropical Storm Nida makes its closest approach a safe distance south of Guam early tomorrow morning. But meteorologists at the National Weather Service still warn that feeder band activity east of the system could continue to affect us in the coming days.

The NWS is also keeping a close eye on some of our neighbors to the south, as meteorologist Michael Ziobro said, ""The small little atolls near Yap State, that's what we're more worried about especially Faraulep; it's a small little atoll that's east of Yap and that's where we're expecting the storm to come closest at within the next day."

Tropical Storm Nida Moves 100 Miles Closer To Guam Within 5 Hours (Guam News Factor)

According to the National Weather Service, as of 1:00 p.m. Chamorro Standard Time, a Tropical Storm Watch was in effect for Fais and Ulithi, and a Tropical Storm Warning was in effect for Faraulep.

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At 1:00 p.m. Chamorro Standard Time, the center of Tropical Storm Nida was near 8.7 degrees North Latitude and 145.1 degrees East Longitude.

This is about:
40 miles East of Faraulep;
120 miles Northeast of Woleai;
330 miles South of Guam;
380 miles East-Southeast of Ulithi;
320 miles East-Southeast of Fais; and
480 miles East of Yap.

Tropical Storm Nida has been moving West toward the island of Faraulep at around 9 MPH. It is expected to move West-Northwest during the next 24 hours.

Current projections indicate that Nida may intensify to Supertyphoon status by the weekend reaching a strong Category 3 or possibly even a Cat 4 status.