SAIPAN – The CNMI Emergency Operations Center issued three advisories Monday evening: rip currents along west-facing reefs will be life-threatening through late tonight, the high surf and small craft advisories run into early Tuesday, and the heavy rainfall event once expected to begin Wednesday keeps sliding, with the chance of a tropical system developing trending down.
Large breaking waves of 7 to 10 feet continue on west-facing reefs of the Marianas, driven by southwesterly swell from the monsoon pattern and Tropical Depression 19W, well north-northwest of Yap. The high surf advisory runs until 5 a.m. Tuesday and the high rip current risk through late tonight. Governor David M. Apatang reminded the public to stay out of the water along west-facing reefs; the EOC said inexperienced swimmers should stay out entirely, and anyone caught in a rip current should relax, float, swim along the shoreline rather than against the current, and face the shore and call or wave for help if unable to escape.
A small craft advisory for Marianas coastal waters, with seas of 7 to 10 feet, is in effect until 6 a.m. Tuesday.
In its hydrologic outlook, the EOC said the reinvigorated monsoon trough with a potential embedded tropical disturbance, previously expected to bring periods of heavy rainfall beginning Wednesday, has continued to fall behind. Model guidance shows a downward trend in any potential cyclogenesis, with the enhanced monsoon pattern now likely to fall apart over the next few days, pushing any heavy rainfall into the weekend and potentially early next week. It is the last hydrologic outlook the EOC will issue for this rain event unless conditions warrant a new one, the office said. Localized flooding remains possible in low-lying and poor-drainage areas, and residents are advised to keep nearby storm drains clear.
