Though the Atlantic Ocean has seen less-than-normal activity from the tropics, the same can be said about the Western Pacific. Typically, we see around 26 named storms a year, and upwards of 16 typhoons in a typical year also. This year there have been only 15 tropical depressions, and even less named storms and typhoons.
This may be changing, much like the Atlantic is seeing some changes to the pattern. The Western Pacific is showing some signs of life with what looks like it may become the 16th depression in the Western Pacific by the middle of the week.
Currently, a system several hundred miles to the south and east of Guam is showing more and more convection developing, a sign that this area of clouds needs to be watched. Along with that, it is over some warm waters and moving into a favorable environment.
This system will take a while to develop, and any affects for the next several days will only be felt by Guam and neighboring islands. If this system does develop into a storm, it would be named Man-yi.
This system is likely to push off to the west of Guam by the end of the week and close in on Japan. As of now, the exact track is still unknown, but as it does move over the warm water, additional development is possible. Anyone in coastal Japan should keep an eye on this system.
Guam typically sees a typhoon every few years, and though this is not expected to become a typhoon, the island is typically well prepared and will likely see little effect as the storm moves through other than some flooding and stronger wind gusts.
Story by AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Alan Reppert