Super Typhoon Sinlaku, Earth's Strongest Tropical Cyclone Of 2026, Hammering Saipan, Tinian, Guam

Jonathan Belles Tue, April 14, 2026 at 11:57 AM UTC

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Super Typhoon Sinlaku is slamming the U.S. Northern Marianas and Guam in the western Pacific Ocean with high winds, storm surge and rainfall flooding as the planet's strongest tropical cyclone of 2026, so far. It was the second of twin Pacific tropical cyclones that could thrust forward the formation of El Niño.

Guam, Marianas Latest

The eye of Super Typhoon Sinlaku, currently at Category 4 intensity, is nearing the islands of Saipan and Tinian, in the U.S. Northern Mariana Islands.

As it drew closer to the islands, Sinlaku developed a second outer eyewall, which lashed the islands with high winds and torrential rain. This is something we see at least once, if not multiple times, with intense tropical cyclones.

(MET 101: What Is An Eyewall Replacement Cycle?)

NWS-Guam

Its inner eyewall with its most intense winds is now crawling into Saipan and Tinian, prompting a rare "extreme wind warning" from the National Weather Service, issued only when an eyewall of an intense tropical cyclone is nearing land.

Saipan International Airport has seen gusts over 100 mph for over 9 hours, with a peak gust so far of 120 mph. Farther south, Guam International Airport clocked a peak gust of 87 mph.

Torrential rain continues to lash Guam and the Northern Marianas. Parts of Saipan and Guam have picked up 5 to 7 inches of rain from Sinlaku, and flash flood warnings are in effect.

Forecast

Sinlaku's siege in the islands will continue through at least Wednesday, due in part to its current slow forward speed, until conditions slowly improve after that.

This will be the strongest typhoon to strike so close to Saipan and Tinian since Category 5 Super Typhoon Yutu did so in late October 2018.

In Saipan and Tinian, devastating winds, storm surge of at least 10 to 15 feet above normally dry ground in areas of onshore winds and 15 to 25 inches of rain could lead to widespread flash flooding, according to the National Weather Service.

In Rota Island, damaging winds are also possible, along with a storm surge of at least 3 to 5 feet in areas of onshore flow and 10-20 inches of flooding rainfall.

In Guam, along with tropical-storm-force winds, a storm surge of 1 to 3 feet above normally dry ground is possible in areas of onshore winds, along with 6 to 12 inches of rain, leading to some flash flooding.

After that, Sinlaku is forecast to curl north, then northeastward into the open Pacific, well east of Japan.

One Of Strongest So Early

Sinlaku became the planet's strongest tropical cyclone so far in 2026 last weekend after it rapidly intensified from Category 1 to super typhoon (at least 150 mph) status.

But it didn't stop there.

Sinlaku reached its peak estimated intensity of 185 mph maximum sustained winds and a pressure of 890 millibars, roughly the peak intensity of Hurricane Melissa last October (190 mph; 892 millibars).

According to hurricane expert Dr. Jeff Masters of Yale Climate Connections, Sinlaku tied for the second strongest January through April typhoon on record by wind speed with Super Typhoon Hester in 1953, behind only Super Typhoon Surigae in mid-April 2021.

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While Northwest Pacific typhoons can happen any time of year, most typhoons typically happen from July through November.

Twin Cyclones

Sinlaku was one of two systems, along with now dissipated Cyclone Maila, that formed on opposite sides of the equator, known as twin cyclones.

This phenomenon is unheard of in the Atlantic, but is much more common in the western Pacific and Indian oceans, which host favorable conditions for tropical systems both north and south of the equator. In the South Atlantic, tropical systems don’t form close to the equator, and form rarely at all in that basin. In the Pacific, twins can form as often as two to three times a year.

Maila formed at the beginning of the month in a tantrum of stubbornness in the Solomon Sea. The cyclone never really moved over much during its lifespan, but did become a rare Category 4 storm for the Solomon Sea. For several days, the storm’s forecast cone of uncertainty was more like a giant circle since the storm only moved tens of miles. Just try to figure out this track.

Weather explained: The term tropical cyclone is used in many of our stories as a generic, all-encompassing term for tropical depressions, tropical storms and hurricanes. But in some parts of the world, the term is used in place of hurricane or typhoon.

They form when a burst of wind and moisture moving eastward at low latitudes is split in half by the equator. The resulting storms were briefly mirror images of each other and spun in opposite directions.

The Coriolis effect is the main reason that the two tropical cyclones rotated differently. In the Northern Hemisphere, storms will spin counterclockwise, while they spin clockwise south of the equator.

(Weather Words: The Coriolis Effect)

The two systems generally drift away from the equator during their lifetime, but can remain connected by tendrils of moisture for several days.

El Niño Impacts

Indirectly and with a significant delay, these two cyclones could have impacts around the world by this summer, long after they’ve dissipated.

The wind burst that helped them form and the additional eastward flow created by the twins will likely help intensify this year’s expected El Niño.

These strong winds will push warm water located between Hawaii and New Guinea eastward toward South America, helping to trigger El Niño's formation later this year.

(MORE: Super El Niño Possible | How That Could Affect Tracks)

Winds (in black) will push warm water eastward across the Pacific into the area watched for El Niños (in yellow)

Once this process begins, it becomes difficult to stop. When the eastern Pacific is engulfed in warmer water, thunderstorms begin to form, which tends to pull in more wind from Oceania. This spurs more thunderstorm activity and so the loop begins. This is called the Bjerknes feedback loop.

(MORE: What Super El Niño Means For Atlantic Hurricane Season)

Before the 1997-98 El Niño, typhoons Ivan and Joan in the Northern Hemisphere and Tropical Cyclone Lusi helped enhance a westerly wind burst, and thus are credited with enhancing the strength of the El Niño that year.

Similarly, in 2015, Cyclone Pam and Tropical Storm Bavi are credited with enhancing the strength of the super El Niño that year.

Jonathan Belles has been a digital meteorologist for weather.com for 9 years. His favorite weather is tropical weather, but also enjoys covering high-impact weather and news stories and winter storms. He's a two-time graduate of Florida State University and a proud graduate of St. Petersburg College.

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Source: “AOL Breaking”