Hurricane in Guam, December 23 to 24, 2001

Name: Hurricane in Guam, December 23 to 24, 2001
Start: 2001-12-23T00:00
End: 2001-12-24T00:00
Location: Guam

December 23 to 24, 2001 · NWS GUA · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Tinian and Saipan on the morning of the 22nd. The typhoon , however , curved and headed further north.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $50,000
Crop damage: $50,000
Events: 1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS GUA wrote it up.

Early computer projects had the Typhoon Faxai passing near Guam on Christmas Eve and as a result Typhoon Watches were issued for Guam...Rota...Tinian and Saipan on the morning of the 22nd. The typhoon , however , curved and headed further north. It passed 355 miles to the northeast of Guam on the afternoon of the 23rd and 180 miles to the north-northeast of Saipan on the morning of the 24th. Typhoon Faxai passed close to northen Mariana Island of Agrihan. At 1400 on the 24th the typhoon was only 45 miles to the east of Agrihan. Despite being buffeted by strong winds, the small group of people (9 adults, one child) on Agrihan survived. The only reported damage was a water well being inundated by saltwater.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS GUA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 22, 3:53 PM SST, 8 hours 7 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 22, 3:53 PM SST, 8 hours 7 minutes before

AREA SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TIYAN GU
1 PM GUAM LST SUN DEC 23 2001

WESTERN NORTH PACIFIC BETWEEN EQUATOR AND 25N FROM 130E TO 180.

SUPER-TYPHOON FAXAI IS CENTERED NEAR 15N150E...OR ABOUT 300 MILES
EAST OF SAIPAN...AND IS MOVING NORTHWEST AT 16 MPH WITH MAXIMUM
SUSTAINED WINDS OF 180 MPH. SEE WTPN31 PGTW FROM THE JOINT TYPHOON
WARNING CENTER FOR DETAILS. HEAVY RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS EXTEND OUT
TO 150 MILES FROM THE CENTER. LIGHTER RAIN EXTENDS AN ADDITIONAL 100
MILES BEYOND THE HEAVY RAIN AREA. FAXAI IS AFFECTING THE MARIANA
ISLANDS.

THE MONSOON TROUGH EXTENDS FROM 4N130E TO 6N140E TO SUPER-TYPHOON
FAXAI THEN SOUTHEASTWARD TO 3N155E AND FINALLY TO 1N164E. LOW-LEVEL
CONVERGENCE NEAR THE EASTERN END OF THE MONSOON TROUGH IS GENERATING
SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS SOUTH OF 6N FROM 168E
TO 180E...OR OVER THE SOUTHERN MARSHALL ISLANDS AND NORTH WESTERN
KIRIBATI.

THE TAIL END OF A COLD FRONT EXTENDS FROM 25N150E TO 20N140E.
SCATTERED SHOWERS ARE ALONG AND UP TO 200 MILES NORTHWEST OF THIS
BOUNDARY.

PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES AND ONLY ISOLATED SHOWERS ARE AFFECTING MUCH OF
MICRONESIA FROM THE REPUBLIC OF PALAU IN THE WEST TO KOSRAE STATE IN
THE EAST.

Event by event

1 hurricane (typhoon). Local standard time, as filed.

Hurricane (Typhoon), Northern Marianas

When: December 23, 12:00 AM SST to December 24, 12:00 AM SST
Where: Northern Marianas forecast zone
Property damage: $50,000
Crop damage: $50,000
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

What these are

Hurricane (Typhoon): A tropical cyclone with sustained winds of 64 knots (74 mph) or more, filed per forecast zone for its wind, and with separate events for its flooding, surge and tornadoes.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Guam in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Guam, December 2001 The 2001 hurricane season

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5275808.