The latest storm news on the morning of July 29th from the US Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), Typhoon Dolphin, Japan's 13th storm, is 715km south-southeast of Wake Island and has moved west-northwest at a speed of 15 km/h in the past 6 hours.
The storm with the potential to strengthen into the strongest super typhoon since the beginning of the 2026 storm season has shifted direction to the northwest at an average speed of 15 km/h. It is forecast that this direction of storm Dolphin's movement will continue in the next 4 days under the influence of a high pressure system over the central area of the northern Pacific basin.
At 2 am on July 29, Manila time, Hurricane Dolphin became the fastest growing tropical storm in the Western Pacific Basin (WPAC) since Hurricane Noru in 2022. In 24 hours, the average sustained wind speed in 1 minute of Hurricane Dolphin has increased by about 150 km/h.
Hurricane Dolphin is forecast to strengthen further as favorable environmental conditions continue to be maintained. The latest storm in the western Pacific basin will not pose a threat to any land area at least until the end of the week.
Previously, Typhoon Dolphin entered a period of extremely rapid intensification, strengthening into a Category 3 hurricane from 8 pm on July 28. At that time, experts pointed out that in just 24 hours, the average sustained wind speed in 1 minute of the storm increased by about 110 km/h, making Dolphin one of the fastest intensifying storms in recent years.
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) forecasts that Typhoon Dolphin will strengthen into a super typhoon with maximum winds of up to about 305 km/h on July 31.
In the process of rapid intensification, Hurricane Dolphin is expected to break several records. The latest storm of the 2026 hurricane season may surpass Hurricane Sinlaku to become the strongest storm in the world this year, on par with Hurricane Nepartak in 2016 in terms of the strength of the strongest July tropical storm of the 21st century. Even, this storm may approach the intensity of Hurricane Wanda in 1956 - the strongest July storm in history.
