Tropical Storm in Guam, March 23 to 24, 2010

Name: Tropical Storm in Guam, March 23 to 24, 2010
Start: 2010-03-23T00:00
End: 2010-03-24T00:00
Location: Guam

March 23 to 24, 2010 · NWS GUM · 1 event in 1 county or zone

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: $10,000
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 GUM wrote it up.

Tropical Depression 02W developed about 375 miles east-southeast of Yap early on the morning of March 22nd. Moving west-northwest at about 15 mph, TD 02W intensified into Tropical Storm Omais by 0400 GST the morning of the 23rd as it was passing southwest of the island of Fais in western Yap State. Omais maintained minimal tropical storm force winds of 40 mph as it continued moving west-northwest, passing between Ulithi and Yap around 1100 GST on the 23rd. Closest points of approach were 40 miles southwest of Fais at 0500 GST, 25 miles southwest of Ulithi at 1000 GST, and 60 miles northeast of Yap at 1900 GST. By the afternoon of the 24th, Tropical Storm Omais was over 250 miles northwest of Yap, still packing winds of 40 mph.

Tropical Storm Omais brought several hours of tropical storm conditions to Ulithi and Fais, while Yap was affected relatively little. At Fais, winds were estimated at 50 to 60 mph during the early morning hours of the 23rd, while at Ulithi winds were estimated at 35 to 45 mph. At Yap International Airport, the maximum sustained wind was only 23 mph from the north from 0700 to 1100 GST, and the peak gust was from the north at 40 mph at 0757 GST. Unofficial reports indicated somewhat higher winds north of the airport and Colonia, where some tree branches and coconuts were blown down. The lowest sea-level pressure at the airport was 1001.2 mb at 1552 GST. Ulithi reported 3.98 inches of rain on the 23rd, and Fais likely had a similar amount. But Yap was on the dry side of the storm, receiving only 0.22 inches of rain.

The only island to report any significant damage was Fais, where 70% of the papaya, banana, and breadfruit were damaged or destroyed. Crop damage is estimated at $10,000 for Fais (two-thirds) and Ulithi (one-third).

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 Guam wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 22, 7:21 AM UTC, 6 hours 39 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 22, 7:21 AM UTC, 6 hours 39 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TIYAN GU
521 PM CHST MON MAR 22 2010

UPDATED TO ADD MICRONESIAN DISCUSSION SECTIONS

SYNOPSIS...
TD 02W IS CENTERED ABOUT 440 SSW OF GUAM. SATELLITE SHOWS MID AND
HIGH LEVEL CLOUDINESS ON THE NORTHERN FRINGE OF THE TD OVER THE
MARIANAS. BUT RADAR SHOWS THE RAIN EXTENDING NORTHWARD TO JUST
SOUTH OF THE GUAM COASTAL WATERS. ANOTHER BAND OF LIGHT SHOWERS
IS MOVING NORTH ACROSS TINIAN AND SAIPAN. THE 10 AM SOUNDING HAS
2 INCHES OF PRECIPITABLE WATER...BUT MID-LEVEL DRY AIR APPEARS TO
BE KILLING ANY SHOWERS IN THE GUAM AND ROTA WATERS.

DISCUSSION...
IRONICALLY...WITH TD 02W PASSING SOUTH OF GUAM THE WEATHER LOOKS
TO BE QUITE DRY ACROSS THE MARIANAS THE NEXT FEW DAYS. SUBSIDENCE
OUTSIDE THE STORM ZONE...ALONG WITH PERSISTENT RIDGING INTO THE
MARIANAS FROM THE NORTHEAST...WILL BE SUPPRESSING SHOWERS FOR
ABOUT THE NEXT WEEK. THUS...AFTER ISOLATED SHOWERS THE NEXT
COUPLE OF DAYS...SHOULD HAVE ONLY SLIGHT CHANCE AFTER THAT.
BREEZY CONDITIONS SHOULD PERSIST INTO WED UNTIL 02W GETS WELL OUT
TO THE WEST.

MARINE/SURF...
HAVE EXTENDED SMALL CRAFT AND HIGH SURF ADVYS THRU TUESDAY...AS
SEAS SHOULD REMAIN AT 11 FT TONIGHT AND 10 FT TUES. BUT EVEN
AFTER THE EAST SWELL FALLS A BIT TUE NIGHT AND WED...SURF WILL
LINGER JUST BELOW THE 12 FT THRESHOLD ALONG EAST FACING REEFS FOR
ANOTHER DAY OR TWO.

EASTERN MICRONESIA...
THE BAND OF CONVERGENT WINDS EAST OF 02W WILL GRADUALLY SHIFT
WEST ALONG WITH THE TROPICAL DEPRESSION. AS IT DOES THE WEATHER
OVER POHNPEI WILL GRADUALLY IMPROVE. DRIER TRADES ALONG WITH
BUILDING SUBSIDENCE ALOFT WILL SPREAD FAIR WEATHER FROM THE
MARSHALLS AND KOSRAE THIS EVENING WESTWARD TOWARD POHNPEI. UPPER-
LEVEL WINDS WILL BECOME SOUTHEASTERLY AROUND MIDWEEK. THIS COULD
ALLOW MORE FREQUENT TRADE-WIND SHOWERS FOR THE ENTIRE REGION.
SUBSIDING TRADE-WIND SWELLS HAVE ALLOWED SURF TO DROP BELOW
ADVISORY LEVELS FOR CHUUK... AND WILL ALLOW THE SURF TO DROP FOR
KOSRAE BY TUESDAY EVENING.

&&

WESTERN MICRONESIA...
CHUUK WILL GET ANOTHER ROUND OF SHOWERS TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY
NIGHT AS THE CONVERGENT BAND TO THE EAST SLOWLY MOVES WESTWARD IN
TANDEM WITH TROPICAL DEPRESSION 02W. THE DRY TRADES FROM EASTERN
MICRONESIA WILL MOVE INTO CHUUK BY MIDWEEK. TROPICAL DEPRESSION
02W IS EXPECTED TO TRACK VERY CLOSE TO YAP TUESDAY MORNING AS A
TROPICAL STORM. THEREFORE ISSUED A TROPICAL STORM WARNING FOR
YAP. CONDITIONS SHOULD GRADUALLY IMPROVE AFTER TUESDAY AS 02W
BEGINS TO PULL AWAY FROM YAP. AFTER MIDWEEK...THE PERIPHERAL
SURFACE RIDGE SOUTHEAST OF THE DEPARTING DEPRESSION SHOULD
SUPPORT DRIER WEATHER OVER THE AREA. SURF WILL BE HAZARDOUS ON
EAST SHORES OF KOROR...AND POSSIBLY ALL SHORES OF YAP...THROUGH
TUESDAY NIGHT DUE TO WIND WAVES AND SWELLS FROM 02W. COMBINED
SEAS COULD REACH 14 FEET AT YAP MAKING INTER-ISLAND TRAVEL
DANGEROUS.

&&

.GUM WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
GU...HIGH SURF ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM CHST TUESDAY FOR GUZ001>004.

MARIANAS WATERS...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS UNTIL 6
PM CHST TUESDAY FOR PMZ151>154.

&&

MIDDLEBROOKE/STANKO

Event by event

1 tropical storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Tropical Storm, Micronesia

When: March 23, 12:00 AM GST to March 24, 12:00 AM GST
Where: Micronesia forecast zone
Crop damage: $10,000
Reported by: NWS Storm Survey

What these are

Tropical Storm: A tropical cyclone with sustained winds of 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph).

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Guam in 2010 Every state in 2010 This day in weather history Warnings in Guam, March 2010 The 2010 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: 218495.