Super Typhoon Maysak (RECAP)

Masters also said the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) estimated Maysak's lowest central pressure at 905 millibars on March 31, the lowest pressure they estimated for any typhoon so early in the year. 

(IMAGES: Maysak Wows Space Station Astronauts)

Maysak is also only the sixth super typhoon of record prior to April 1, according to senior digital meteorologist, Nick Wiltgen. A western Pacific tropical cyclone is named a "super typhoon" when maximum sustained winds reach 150 mph. The last such pre-April super typhoon was Super Typhoon Mitag in March 2002.

While a super typhoon on March 31, 2015, the Yap state islands of Ulithi suffered the worst of Maysak, as the southern eyewall raked the tiny atoll with less than 1,000 residents about 420 miles southwest of Guam. 

Freelance photographer/writer Brad Holland documented the devastation on Ulithi. Homes were destroyed and trees were downed, and only one working bathroom was operational on the island, according to Holland.

"There's no account in these people's history of a storm like this, and the damage is immeasurable," said Holland in a Facebook post on April 2, 2015. "All that is left to survive on is what can be salvaged from what didn't blow away. There's no boat to go fishing. Every big tree that had anything good on it is upside down. There's enough water to have 1 quart per day, per person. One quart a day on an island with no shade and nothing but work to do."

Prior to becoming a super typhoon, Maysak caused significant damage and killed at least five people in the Chuuk state of Micronesia, according to The Associated Press. Winds gusted as high as 71 mph Chuuk International Airport on Weno Island in the Chuuk State of Micronesian on March 29, 2015.

Kane Faylim, airport manager for the Chuuk state government told the Associated Press airport employees had to clear rocks deposited by large waves from the runway of Chuuk's airstrip.

Maysak weakened to a tropical storm before making landfall in the northern Philippines March 4-5, 2015.

Western Pacific Ocean tropical cyclones, called typhoons, can occur any time of the year, but typically hit a relative minimum in February and early March.

The name Maysak is Cambodian for a kind of tree.

Earlier in March, Tropical Cyclone Pam made a direct hit on the southern islands of Vanuatu in the south Pacific.

(PAM: Before/After Imagery | How You Can Help | Four Tropical Cyclones At Once)

MORE ON WEATHER.COM: Cyclone Pam's Devastation (Mar. 2015)