While the Atlantic and Central Pacific Hurricane Seasons are still over a month away with a June 1 start date, there is one part of the U.S. about to be hit by an impressive tropical cyclone, Sinlaku. Sinlaku is currently the most powerful storm on the planet and the strongest tropical cyclone thus far of 2026.
Sinlaku is a Super Typhoon, a term used to describe major hurricanes west of the International Date Line. While the National Hurricane Center takes the lead in tropical cyclone forecasts for the U.S. mainland and Hawaii, tropical cyclone advisories for Guam, Saipan, and nearby American interests are managed by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), a military team of forecasters based in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Sinlaku currently has maximum sustained winds of 181 mph which make it a high-end Category 5 storm on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale. The storm is targeting the Northern Marianas and Guam where the broader archipelago is bracing for a direct impact by one of nature’s most potent storms.
Our thoughts & prayers are with all of those in the path of this fierce monster: https://t.co/WoodarAZW3
— the Weatherboy (@theWeatherboy) April 13, 2026
Super Typhoon Sinlaku has undergone rapid intensification over the last 24 hours and the JTWC believes it will strike the islands of Tinian and Saipan head-on while lashing Guam with severe conditions too.
Guam is a distinct district territory of the United States while islands like Tinian and Saipan are within the Northern Mariana Islands, which are part of the United States too. Officially known as the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), they are an unincorporated territory and a commonwealth in political union with the U.S.; residents there are U.S. citizens.
