Guam braces for "direct hit"from Typhoon Mawar

Typhoon Mawar nearing landfall in Guam on Wednesday morning local time. Photo: CIRA/RAMMB

Guam is "expected to take a direct hit" from Typhoon Mawar after strengthening into a dangerous Category 4 storm in the Pacific Tuesday, the National Weather Service office in the U.S. territory warns.

The latest: The eye of the storm was on track to pass Wednesday evening local time over central or northern Guam, which has a 168,000-strong population and is home to three U.S. military bases. NWS Guam issued a flash flood warning for the entire island through at least Thursday morning due to heavy rainfall.

Threat level: In addition to damaging winds, the NWS predicted a 6- to 10-foot storm surge above normal tide levels.

The big picture: President Biden on Tuesday approved an emergency declaration for Guam. The island's governor declared a state of emergency for the U.S. territory earlier this week and U.S. Navy officials said they moved all ships stationed at Guam out to sea as a standard precaution ahead of the storm.

Zoom out: Aydlett said during a Facebook Live broadcast with the governor in Guam Tuesday that Mawar would likely be the "largest, strongest storm to strike Guam in two decades."

Between the lines: Super Typhoon Mawar rapidly intensified Monday into Tuesday, with its winds strengthening by 50 mph in just 18 hours, per meteorologist Jeff Masters.

Of note: Climate change has been linked to an increase in both the occurrence and rate of rapidly intensifying storms in many ocean basins. One recent study identified an uptick in storms that intensify into super typhoons in the area of the Mariana Islands.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional developments.