Super Typhoon Dolphin from 6,000 km away set to churn Vietnam's waters next week

A super typhoon spinning near Wake Island, more than 6,000 km from Vietnam, is expected to whip up strong winds and high waves across the East Sea next week without entering it. Vietnam's National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said Super Typhoon Dolphin was centered at 16.4 degrees north and 165.8 degrees east on the morning of July 30. Sustained winds were at the low end of level 17 on Vietnam's scale, roughly 200 kph, with stronger gusts.It is the fourth super typhoon to form over the northwestern Pacific this year, after Sinlaku, Mekkhala and Bavi.Forecasters expect Dolphin to track west-northwest at about 20 kph over the next one to three days, then turn west at 20-25 kph toward the Fujian-Zhejiang coast of China.Current model data show no sign the storm will move into the East Sea, internationally known as the South China Sea. Super Typhoon Dolphin's position in the afternoon of July 30, 2026. Graphics by the NCHMF The center said Dolphin will draw in the southwest monsoon as it closes on waters north of Taiwan from around Aug. 5, strengthening winds across the southern East Sea. It expects no impact through Aug. 4.By Aug. 6-7, southwesterly winds over most of the northern, central and southern East Sea, including waters around the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) islands, could reach 39-61 kph.Waves are forecast at 2-4 m with very rough seas. The center warned the conditions could affect vessels operating in the area.The U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center forecast the typhoon's peak winds near 305 kph by July 31, measured as a one-minute average.The Japan Meteorological Agency projected about 216 kph on a 10-minute average, a measure that returns lower figures for the same storm. AccuWeather described Dolphin as a Category 5-equivalent system passing close to Wake Island and sending heavy surf across scattered islands in the central Pacific.Dolphin intensified rapidly earlier this week over water near 32 degrees Celsius, and forecasters have said it may rival Sinlaku as the most powerful storm anywhere in the world this year.The name comes from Hong Kong, which contributed it to the World Meteorological Organization's rotating list in reference to the Chinese white dolphin, one of the territory's mascots.