Super Typhoon Champi has become one of the most powerful storms on Earth this year. The cyclone reached maximum sustained winds of about 185 mph (around 296 km/h) over the Philippine Sea this week, the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane, and is now heading toward Taiwan and eastern China.
Key points
- Champi peaked at about 185 mph sustained winds on October 20, tying April's Super Typhoon Sinlaku for the strongest winds of 2026.
- It reached Category 5-equivalent strength three separate times after passing close to Guam.
- The storm has since weakened slightly but remains a super typhoon as it moves toward waters east of Taiwan.
- AccuWeather warns of up to 18 inches of rain and gusts up to 120 mph in parts of Taiwan and eastern China from October 22 to 25.
- Taiwan has cancelled more than 100 flights, according to The Independent.
How strong is Champi?
According to Scientific American, Champi's winds reached about 185 mph on Tuesday afternoon US Eastern time, the strongest wind speed of any storm this year, forecasters said. A report carried by Yahoo News says that ties Super Typhoon Sinlaku in April for the strongest one-minute sustained winds of 2026.
The Watchers reports that Champi, known locally in the Philippines as Rosal, reached 296 km/h on October 20. By Wednesday morning, its winds had eased to about 175 mph, and NOAA expected further weakening over the following day or so, Scientific American reported.
What does "Category 5-equivalent" mean?
The Saffir-Simpson scale used for Atlantic and eastern Pacific hurricanes puts storms with sustained winds of 157 mph or more in Category 5, the top level. Typhoons in the western Pacific are not officially rated on that scale, so forecasters describe them as "equivalent." The US Joint Typhoon Warning Center calls a storm a super typhoon when its one-minute sustained winds reach at least 150 mph.
Typhoons and hurricanes are the same kind of storm. The name depends on where they form: in the Northwest Pacific they are typhoons, and in the North Atlantic and central and eastern North Pacific they are hurricanes.
A storm that kept coming back
Champi has been unusually persistent. According to The Independent, it developed into a tropical storm last week and strengthened to Category 4-equivalent in less than 48 hours. It passed within about 10 miles (16 km) of the US territory of Guam on Saturday.
The storm first reached Category 5-equivalent intensity on October 17, about six hours after passing Guam, with winds of around 165 mph. It weakened, regained Category 5 strength the next day, and then reached that level for a third time this week.
Where is it heading?
Champi is east of the Philippines and southeast of Taiwan, moving west-northwest at about 15 mph and expected to turn slightly northwest. The Hong Kong Observatory listed it as a super typhoon with winds of 210 km/h near the centre at 08:00 Hong Kong time on October 22, about 1,250 km east of Hong Kong. The Observatory forecasts it will weaken to a severe typhoon by October 23, a typhoon by October 24 and a severe tropical storm by October 25.
In the Philippines, the weather agency PAGASA kept Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 2 over Batanes and warned of heavy rain and waves of up to 10 metres, The Watchers reported.
Expected impacts
AccuWeather senior meteorologist Jason Nicholls expects heavy rain in Taiwan from Thursday night (October 22) into Saturday (October 24), and in east-central China from Friday night (October 23) through Sunday (October 25), according to the Yahoo News report. Rain totals could reach 18 inches, with the heaviest falls in northeastern Taiwan. AccuWeather warns of:
- Flooding and mudslides
- Wind gusts of up to 120 mph in Taiwan and eastern China
- Structural damage and prolonged power outages
- Transportation delays
The Independent reports that Taiwan had already cancelled more than 100 flights.
Why it matters
Even as Champi weakens, a large and powerful typhoon can bring dangerous rain, wind and flooding far from its centre. The Independent notes that typhoon-force winds extend up to 100 miles from the eye. Anyone in Taiwan, eastern China or the northern Philippines should follow official warnings from local weather agencies, which are the most reliable source for evacuation orders and local timing.
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