Particle.news
Get it on Google Play
Download on the App Store
31 ARTICLES
·
last wk.

Super Typhoon Bavi Pounds Rota With Category‑5 Winds

Rapid intensification fed by record‑warm Pacific waters plus a strong El Niño has raised the odds of more powerful storms for the region.

A hotel staff member removes water that leaked into a building during heavy rain brought by Super Typhoon Bavi in Guam on July 6, 2026.
Image
Image
Super Typhoon Bavi is seen on Monday in enhanced infrared imagery that colors clouds by temperature. The black and red ring around the eye marks cloud tops so cold they stretch nearly to the top of the atmosphere, a signature of a storm still at Category 5 strength.

Overview

  • The storm’s western eyewall passed over the small U.S. island of Rota on Monday, producing sustained Category‑5 winds near 180 mph and gusts reported up to roughly 346 km/h.
  • Initial reports from local officials say Rota suffered major damage, with communications and power outages and emergency shelters open for residents.
  • Typhoon and flash‑flood warnings remain in effect for Guam, Saipan and Tinian and U.S. military bases on Guam have moved to their highest storm‑readiness levels.
  • Forecasters say Bavi will continue westward and could threaten the Philippines and Taiwan later in the week but note that eyewall cycles and small track shifts create forecast uncertainty.
  • Meteorologists link Bavi’s extreme rapid intensification to unusually warm sea surface temperatures and a strengthening El Niño, and the storm heightens risks for islands still recovering from April’s Super Typhoon Sinlaku.