Captain William Wake, who also is reported to have discovered the atoll from the Prince William Henry in 1792. Geography Wake is located two-thirds of the way from Honolulu to Guam. Honolulu is to the east, and Guam to the west. Midway Atoll is to the northeast. The closest land is the uninhabited Bokak Atoll, away in the Marshall Islands, to the southeast. The atoll is to the west of the International Date Line and in the Wake Island Time Zone (UTC+12), the easternmost time zone in the United States and almost one day ahead of the 50 states. Although Wake is officially called an island in the singular form, it is geologically an atoll composed of three islets (Wake, Wilkes, and Peale islets) and a reef surrounding a central lagoon. Climate Wake Island lies in the tropical zone, but is subject to periodic temperate storms during the winter. Sea surface temperatures are warm all year long, reaching above in summer and autumn. Typhoons occasionally pass over the island. Typhoons On October 19, 1940, an unnamed typhoon hit Wake Island with winds. This was the first recorded typhoon to hit the island since observations began in 1935. Super Typhoon Olive impacted Wake on September 16, 1952, with wind speeds reaching . Olive caused major flooding, destroyed approximately 85% of its structures and caused in damage. On September 16, 1967, at 10:40 pm local time, the eye of Super Typhoon Sarah passed over the island. Sustained winds in the eyewall were , from the north before the eye and from the south afterward. All non-reinforced structures were demolished. There were no serious injuries, and the majority of the civilian population was evacuated after the storm. On August 28, 2006, the United States Air Force evacuated all 188 residents and suspended all operations as Category 5 Super Typhoon Ioke headed toward Wake. By August 31 the southwestern eyewall of the storm passed over the island, with winds well over , driving a storm surge and waves directly into the lagoon inflicting major damage. A U.S. Air Force assessment and repair team returned to the island in September 2006 and restored limited function to the airfield and facilities leading ultimately to a full return to normal operations. Ecology Wake Island is home to the Wake Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. Native vegetation communities of Wake Island include scrub, grass, and wetlands. Tournefortia argentia dominated