The storm is now due north of us, still moving slowly towards the northwest.
We are seeing some heavy winds and a lot of heavy rain today, but unless the storm changes direction completely, we should be out of harms way now.
Still looking OK. We have had some gusts of winds and rain, but not too bad. And the forecasts still predict Man-Yi moving north-west.
Not so good; Man-Yi has been moving west more than north during the day. As well as increasing in strength more quickly than anticipated.
All in all, it looks quite OK though, just some small worrying aspects.
More tomorrow.
The storm has picked up speed, moving northwest quicker than previously forecast. According to the latest predictions the center will pass northeast of Yap proper during the evening.
The winds are increasing slowly here, but they are still not bad at all.
More later.
The forecasts look OK at the moment. The storm (now named Man-Yi) will pass north of Yap proper tonight around midnight local time (GMT+10), and it will not become a typhoon until tomorrow. The center of the storm is currently over the Yap outer island Furaulep.
The weather here is actually quite calm at the moment. As we are on the western side of the storm, and it is rotating counter-clockwise, the winds are coming in from the north-west. Being on the eastern side of the island, we are protected.
Updates will follow during the day. More information at The Joint Typhoon Warning Center, The Guam Weather Service and Weather Underground.
OK, so - according to the pros - there will be a cyclone/typhoon.
But it will likely/hopefully pass north of Yap.
So we will probably see some rough and strange weather the next few days, but not any really bad typhoon activity.
So far, we have just noticed that the winds are turning and that the evening sky is looking even more interesting than usual...
More tomorrow.
It's been extremely calm and hot here for two days (with some excellent manta dives...). Apparently this might have been the quiet before the storm.
There is currently a tropical depression - with a high risk of becoming a tropical cyclone - forming over neighboring Chuuk, which might pass close to Yap during the next few days.
Or, as the Joint Typhon Warning Center puts it:
"THE POTENTIAL FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SIGNIFICANT TROPICAL CYCLONE WITHIN THE NEXT 24 HOURS IS UPGRADED TO GOOD."
"GOOD" actually meaning 'quite bad...'
More tomorrow. Further updates can be found at the Joint Typhon Warning Center.
Meanwhile, listening to Ian Hunter - Welcome to the club. It took me 4 days to download from iTunes, but it was worth it. Up there with Thin Lizzy's Live and Dangerous as one of the few really great live albums. Classic Mott the Hoople meeting later Ian Hunter solo. And all Mick Ronson. The only thing I will ever agree with Magnus Uggla on is that Irene Wilde might be the best rock ballad ever.
