Higos Weakening Rapidly East of Saipan

After intensifying rapidly into a strong but small typhoon on Monday, vertical wind shear caused Higos to begin a rapid weakening trend on Tuesday.  At 11:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday the center of Typhoon Higos was located at latitude 15.3°N and longitude 152.9°E which put it about 450 miles east of Saipan and about 880 miles west-southwest of Wake Island.  Higos was moving toward the west-northwest at 7 m.p.h.  The maximum sustained wind speed was 80 m.p.h. and there were gusts to 90 m.p.h.  The minimum surface pressure was estimated to be 974 mb.

Strong southwesterly winds in the upper levels are blowing over the top of Higos.  Those strong winds have blown the upper half of the circulation off to the northeast of the lower half of the circulation.  The lower portion of the circulation consists of a tight center with spiral bands of shallower clouds rotating around the center.  The wind shear is preventing deep thunderstorms from forming near the center and it is causing Higos to weaken rapidly.  Unless the shear lets up, which is unlikely, the lack of deep convection to remove mass will cause the surface pressure to increase and the circulation to spin down.

Since Higos consists primarily of a lower level circulation it is likely to be steered by winds in the lower portion of the atmosphere.  A subtropical ridge to the east of Higos is likely to steer it to the north-northwest until the wind shear causes it to spin down.