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‘Storm conditions possible by Sunday’
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Posted on Aug 19 2004
Less then two months after the onslaught of Typhoon Tingting, the Emergency Management Office warned the public that tropical storm conditions could be felt on the islands by Sunday.
In a special advisory, however, the EMO said the weather disturbance was still difficult to predict, as the storm’s development was still at its early stages yesterday.
The EMO said tropical depression 19W was located about 1,060 miles east of Saipan, about 1,065 miles east of Tinian, and some 1,090 miles east of Rota.
As of 4pm yesterday, 19W had maximum sustained winds of 35mph gusting to 45mph, and was moving west-northwest at 12 mph. The EMO said 12W was expected to slowly intensify.
The distance of the weather disturbance may allow it to intensify further before possibly reaching the Marianas region. The EMO said scattered rainshowers and strong winds might already be felt on the islands. The EMO warned small sea vessels of high surf.
A tropical depression becomes a storm if it has winds of 39-74mph. A storm elevates into a typhoon when wind strength reaches at least 75mph. Once wind strength intensifies to at least 150mph, the weather disturbance becomes a supertyphoon.
The most recent typhoon to hit the islands, Tingting, prompted a major disaster declaration for the Northern Marianas by President Bush.
Tingting, which made its closest approach on Saipan on June 28, dumped record-breaking rainfall on the island, flooding several portions of the island. The typhoon also left the island with knocked down trees, flooded roads, power outages, and about 200 people displaced from their homes.
