Tropical Storm Usagi Makes Landfall South of Ho Chi Minh City

Tropical Storm Usagi made landfall south of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on Saturday night.  At 10:00 p.m. EST on Saturday the center of Tropical Storm Usagi was located at latitude 10.2°N and longitude 107.1°E which put it about 60 miles (995 km) south-southeast of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.  Usagi was moving toward the west at 5 m.p.h. (8 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 65 m.p.h. (105 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 80 m.p.h. (130 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 984 mb.

Former Typhoon Usagi weakened as it approached the coast of southern Vietnam.  Moderate vertical wind shear caused by upper level winds blowing from the east caused Usagi to weaken slowly.  The core of Tropical Storm Usagi was still relatively intact.  A ring of strong thunderstorms surrounded the remnants of the small eye.  The strongest winds were occurring in that ring of storms.  Heavy rain was falling just to the southwest of the center of circulation.  Thunderstorms were also dropping heavy rain in a couple of bands on the northeastern periphery of the circulation.

Tropical Storm Usagi will bring gusty winds to the areas south and west of Ho Chi Minh City.  Some places in southern Vietnam and Cambodia will receive locally heavy rainfall and flash floods could occur in those areas.  Usagi will weaken slowly as it move inland over southern Vietnam.

Elsewhere over the Western North Pacific Ocean, Typhoon Man-yi was meandering slowly southeast of Okinawa.  At 10:00 p.m. EST on Saturday the center of Typhoon Man-yi was located at latitude 18.4°N and longitude 135.8°E which put it about 770 miles (1245 km) southeast of Okinawa.  Man-yi was moving toward the west at 2 m.p.h. (3 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 90 m.p.h. (145 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 115 m.p.h. (185 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 969 mb.