Tropical Storm in Guam, July 1, 2006

TROPICAL STORM EWINIARTropical Depression (TD) 04W developed on the morning of June 30th, about 225 miles south-southeast of Yap and 165 miles southeast of Ngulu. As TD 04W moved northwest during the day, it intensified only slightly, and by 2200 SST that evening it was centered about 125 miles south of Yap and 80 miles south-southeast of Ngulu, with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph. At that point, TD 04W turned northward and intensified into Tropical Storm Ewiniar, with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph by 0400 SST on July 1st. Ewiniar maintained its 60 mph intensity as it passed 15 miles east of Ngulu at 0900 SST on the 1st, and 55 miles southwest of Yap at 1200 SST. After passing Yap, Ewiniar turned back to a more northwest track, and by 1000 SST on the 2nd it was centered about 190 miles west-northwest of Yap with maximum sustained winds at 65 mph. During its passage on the 1st, Ewiniar brought several hours of tropical storm conditions to Ngulu and Yap. At the Yap Weather Service Office, the highest 1-minute wind and the peak gust were 46 mph and 61 mph respectively, from the southeast at 1132 SST. The lowest sea-level pressure of 999.5 mb occurred a short time later, at 1159 SST. The rainfall with Ewiniar was relatively light. In the 24 hours ending at 2200 SST on the 1st, which included Ewiniar's passage by Yap, only 0.68 inches of rain was recorded. The following day, as Ewiniar moved away from Yap, a cluster of heavy showers on the storm's southeast periphery dropped 1.71 inches of rain in the 24 hours ending at 2200 SST on the 2nd. Ewiniar's storm surge, augmented by a long fetch of southwesterly monsoon winds, reached 8 feet at Yap's southern tip, and 5 to 6 feet in Colonia. No observations were available from Ngulu, but conditions were likely similar to those experienced on Yap, with slightly higher winds. The storm surge knocked down newly-installed road guards and flooded several buildings in Colonia. The surge also shoved a large boat into a tide gauge, totally destroying the gauge and its building. There was no wind damage to structures, since most buildings were strengthened following Typhoon Sudal in April 2004. The surge resulted in $100,000 in damage, while it is estimated that wind and salt spray did a few thousands of dollars in damage to local crops.