&sq=&lang=&file=File:Faxai_Dec_23_2001_0040Z.jpg) Faxai at peak intensity on December 23 | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | December 13, 2001 |
| Extratropical | December 25, 2001 |
| Dissipated | December 26, 2001 |
| Violent typhoon | |
| 10-minute sustained (JMA) | |
| Highest winds | 195 km/h (120 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 915 hPa (mbar); 27.02 inHg |
| Category 5-equivalent super typhoon | |
| 1-minute sustained (SSHWS/JTWC) | |
| Highest winds | 285 km/h (180 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 879 hPa (mbar); 25.96 inHg |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 2 total |
| Damage | $1 million (2001 USD) |
| Areas affected | Federated States of Micronesia, Mariana Islands |
| IBTrACS | |
Part of the 2001 Pacific typhoon season | |
Typhoon Faxai was the strongest tropical cyclone worldwide in 2001. The twenty-fifth named storm and the sixteenth typhoon of the 2001 Pacific typhoon season, Faxai originated from a circulation in the monsoon trough. The system remained stationary for several days near Kosrae, pouring heavy rain that knocked down power. An indirect death occurred on the island as well. As the storm steadily intensified, Faxai moved west-northwestward at a very slow pace as it neared Pingelap, damaging crops, before bringing strong winds and rainfall that produced two landslides in Pohnpei on December 20. Intensity fluctuated, but convection in the core became more defined and by December 21, Faxai had intensified into a typhoon. A period of rapid intensification then followed, and by early December 23, Faxai reached its peak intensity.
Preparations were ordered as Faxai approached the Mariana Islands, which included a state of emergency on Guam being declared. Faxai produced swells, causing rip currents that drowned a man in Guam. An eyewall replacement cycle was initiated as Faxai began to weaken. On December 24, Faxai recurved north-northeastward, approaching the island of Agrihan, before transitioning into an extratropical cyclone on Christmas Day. Agrihan endured powerful winds, but reported minimal damage. The storm's remnants were last marked far west-northwest of Midway Atoll on December 26, before dissipating on that same day. In total, Faxai caused damage of $1 million throughout the affected areas.