Damaging Wind in Guam, February 21 to 22, 2003

On the night of the 21st heavy showers and thunderstorms developed in the vicinity of Majuro. These owners and thunderstorms were the result of trade wind convergence. Winds that were originally from the north-northeast at 1600L shifted to the north by 1700L and to the northwest by 1900L. The winds stayed out of the west-northwest through the night and until the afternoon of the 22nd, when they shifted back to northeast by 0200L. It appears that the winds were the result of an outflow boundary formed by the showers and thunderstorms. While the winds were not very strong (peak wind 20 kts observed 0000 and 0100 on the 22nd) the wind shift caught a few unprepared mariners by surprise. The ketch Long Reach II snapped its mooring and the skipper was forced to motor in circles around the lagoon throughout the night. Another yacht, the Raison d'Etre feared it would drag its anchor, so the crew battled to relocated to a spare mooring. Two yachts, the Miss Tamioko and Kylynn, both dragged anchor and ended up on the beach. Neither sustained any major damage. Near dawn on the 22nd the 27 foot sloop "Dhyana" broke its moorings and ended up on the rocks. She began to take on water and partially sank. Later on a crane lifted the ill stricken yacht onto dry land. Apart from the damage to the ships, no one was injured. The showers were heavy amounting to 2.30 inches of rain falling in the six hour period ending at midnight on the 22nd. No flooding was reported.