Super Typhoon Champi has now become the world’s most powerful tropical cyclone of 2026, in terms of wind speed.
The system in the western Pacific Ocean has become a powerhouse with its maximum winds of 186 mph, the equivalent of a Category 5 storm.
Hurricane Polo previously held the title of the world’s most powerful tropical cyclone in 2026, in terms of wind speed. The storm peaked with maximum sustained winds of 285 km/h and a minimum central pressure of 892 mb, which is still lower than that of Champi (895 mb), making Polo stronger in this regard.
Such low atmospheric pressure made Polo the second most intense hurricane on record in the Eastern Pacific.
Champi is also now the world’s seventh Category 5 storm of the year.
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The typhoon also had a very healthy structure on radar when it passed Guam early Sunday morning local time.
Sea surface temperatures in this part of the western Pacific hover around 30°C, which is slightly warmer than normal for this time of year. The environment around the typhoon has deep humidity, calm winds, and low wind shear. and enough upper level support to vent air from the storm.
The Champi massif will continue to move west towards Taipei before turning northwest later this week.
It will enter a more unfavorable environment, so Champi is expected to weaken to a Category 4 or 3 storm by Thursday and Friday.
All of these ingredients, along with the internal organization of the storm, are essential for a tropical cyclone to maintain calm and continue to strengthen.
What will the repercussions be in Canada?
The massive storm pulls on the jet stream, impacting weather patterns across the world.
Champi took a more westerly route toward Taiwan. Downstream, impacts are expected on Canada, reinforcing the trend in late October and early November that we previously forecast.
In Ontario and Quebec, the weather is expected to become more changeable and unstable at times during the middle and end of next week, and persist into the following week.
Warmer than normal temperatures are expected to dominate, but rapid interruptions are also expected.
With files from Dennis Mersereau, digital journalist and weather specialist at The Weather Network, and Rachel Modestino, meteorologist at The Weather Network.
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