Super Typhoon Maysak rapidly intensified into the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 160 mph in the final days of March 2015. According to Weather Underground's Dr. Jeff Masters, Maysak is only the third super typhoon in reliable records dating to the 1940s with estimated winds that strong prior to April.
Masters also said the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) estimated Maysak's lowest central pressure at 905 millibars on March 31, the lowest pressure they estimated for any typhoon so early in the year.
Maysak is also only the sixth super typhoon of record prior to April 1, according to senior digital meteorologist, Nick Wiltgen. A western Pacific tropical cyclone is named a "super typhoon" when maximum sustained winds reach 150 mph. The last such pre-April super typhoon was Super Typhoon Mitag in March 2002.
While a super typhoon on March 31, 2015, the Yap state islands of Ulithi suffered the worst of Maysak, as the southern eyewall raked the tiny atoll with less than 1,000 residents about 420 miles southwest of Guam.
Prior to becoming a super typhoon, Maysak caused significant damage and killed at least five people in the Chuuk state of Micronesia, according to The Associated Press. Winds gusted as high as 71 mph Chuuk International Airport on Weno Island in the Chuuk State of Micronesian on March 29, 2015.
Maysak weakened to a tropical storm before making landfall in the northern Philippines March 4-5, 2015.
Western Pacific Ocean tropical cyclones, called typhoons, can occur any time of the year, but typically hit a relative minimum in February and early March.
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