 The JTWC estimated Saomai to have been a much more powerful system, ranking it as a Category 5-equivalent super typhoon with one-minute winds of and a pressure of 898 mbar (hPa; 26.52 inHg).Further, though less significant, discrepancies on the peak intensity of Saomai exist between the local warning centers for China.Both the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) and Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) estimated the typhoon to have been slightly stronger, stating peak ten-minute sustained winds of and , respectively.