Tag Archives: Tropical Storm Tembin

Tropical Storm Tembin Strengthens Over the Sulu Sea

Tropical Storm Tembin moved west of Mindanao and it strengthened over the Sulu Sea on Friday.  At 4:00 p.m. EST on Friday the center of Tropical Storm Tembin was located at latitude 8.0°N and longitude 120.8°E which put it about 200 miles (320 km) southeast of Puerto Princesa, Philippines.  Tembin was moving toward the west at 8 m.p.h. (13 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 60 m.p.h. (95 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 75 m.p.h. (120 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 992 mb.

Tropical Storm Tembin weakened when the center moved across Mindanao.  The center is back over water in the Sulu Sea and the circulation of Tembin is strengthening again.  There is a distinct low level center of circulation, but the distribution of thunderstorms is asymmetrical.  Most of the strong thunderstorms are occurring in bands in the western half of the circulation.  Bands in the eastern half of the circulation consist primarily of low clouds and showers.  The storms west of the center are generating upper level divergence which is pumping mass away to the west of the tropical storm.  The removal of mass has caused the surface pressure to decrease and the wind speeds have started to increase.

Tropical Storm Tembin will be moving through an environment that is favorable for intensification.  Tembin will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperature is near 29°C.  An upper level ridge north of Tropical Storm Tembin is producing easterly winds which are blowing toward the top of the circulation.   Those winds are causing vertical wind shear, which is probably the reason for the asymmetrical distribution of thunderstorms.  However, the shear is not strong enough to prevent Tropical Storm Tembin from intensifying.  Tembin could strengthen into a typhoon during the next day or two while is moves over the South China Sea.

The subtropical ridge north of Tembin is steering the tropical storm toward the west.  A general motion toward the west-northwest west is forecast for the next two or three days.  On its anticipated track Tropical Storm Tembin will move across Palawan in about 18 hours.  Tembin could reach the southern coast of Vietnam in about three days.  Tembin will bring gusty winds and heavy rain to Palawan.  Tembin could be a typhoon when it approaches southern Vietnam.

Elsewhere over the western North Pacific Ocean Tropical Depression Kai-tak is approaching the east coast of Malaysia.  At 4:00 p.m. EST on Friday the center of Tropical Depression Kai-tak was located at latitude 4.0°N and longitude 104.4°E which put it about 175 miles (285 km) north-northeast of Singapore.  Kai-tak was moving toward the southwest at 8 m.p.h. (13 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 30 m.p.h. (50 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 40 m.p.h. (65 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 1005 mb.  Tropical Depression Kai-tak will drop locally heavy rain over portions of Malaysia, which could cause floods and mudslides.

Tropical Storm Tembin Drops Heavy Rain on Mindanao

Tropical Storm Tembin dropped heavy rain on Mindanao on Thursday.  At 4:00 p.m. EST on Thursday the center of Tropical Storm Tembin was located at latitude 7.9°N and longitude 126.1°E which put it near Monkayo, Philippines.  Tembin was moving toward the west-southwest at 12 m.p.h. (19 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 60 m.p.h. (95 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 75 m.p.h. (120 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 990 mb.

Tropical Storm Tembin intensified on Thursday before it made landfall on Mindanao.  More thunderstorms developed near the core of the circulation and those storms generated stronger upper level divergence which pumped mass away from the tropical storm.  The removal of mass allowed the surface pressure to decrease and the wind speed to increase.  Although the circulation became much better organized, the distribution of thunderstorms was still asymmetrical.  There were far fewer thunderstorms forming in the eastern half of the circulation.

The center of Tropical Storm Tembin will be moving across Mindanao for another day or so.  The mountains on the island will disrupt the lower levels of the circulation and increased friction will slow the wind speed.  Tropical Storm Tembin will weaken while the center is over Mindanao.  However, the middle and upper parts of the circulation are likely to remain intact, and Tropical Storm Tembin will move through a favorable environment when it reaches the Sulu Sea.  Tembin will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperature is near 29°C.  An upper level ridge north of Tropical Storm Tembin is producing easterly winds which are blowing toward the top of the circulation.  The winds in the middle and lower levels are also blowing from the east and the vertical wind shear will not be strong enough to prevent intensification of Tropical Storm Tembin once the center gets back over water.  Temping could strengthen into a typhoon when it reaches the South China Sea.

The ridge north of Tembin is steering the tropical storm toward the west-southwest.  A general motion toward the west is expected during the next two to three days.  On its anticipated track Tropical Storm Tembin will move east to west over Mindanao during the next 24 hours.  Afterwards, Tropical Storm Tembin will move across the Sulu Sea toward Palawan.  Tembin could be near Palawan in about 48 hours and it could be over the South China Sea shortly thereafter.

Tropical Storm Tembin represents a serious hazard for Mindanao and nearby locations in the southern Philippines.  Tembin is dropping heavy rain and it has the potential to cause serious floods.  Water levels could rise quickly and flash floods could develop.  Saturated soils could result in mudslides in areas of steeper terrain.

Farther to the west, Tropical Storm Kai-tak continued to move across the South China Sea.  At 4:00 p.m. EST on Thursday the center of Tropical Storm Kai-tak was located at latitude 5.7°N and longitude 106.9°E which put it about 250 miles (400 km) east of Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia.  Kai-tak was moving toward the west-southwest at 5 m.p.h. (8 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 40 m.p.h. (65 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 50 m.p.h. (80 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 1000 mb.

Tropical Storm Tembin Forms East of the Philippines

Tropical Storm Tembin formed east of the Philippines on Wednesday.  At 1:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday the center of Tropical Storm Tembin was located at latitude 9.0°N and longitude 130.7°E which put it about 270 miles (435 km) east of Mindanao.  Tembin was moving toward the west at 12 m.p.h. (20 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 40 m.p.h. (65 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 50 m.p.h. (80 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 1000 mb.

A more well organized center of circulation developed on the eastern edge of a cluster of thunderstorms east of the Philippines and the Japan Meteorological Agency classified the system as Tropical Storm Tembin.  The distribution of thunderstorms in Tembin is asymmetrical.  Most of the storms are forming in bands north and west of the center of circulation.  Those storms are generating upper level divergence which is pumping mass away from the core of Tembin.  There are a few thunderstorms in bands on the eastern periphery of the circulation, but most of the bands in the eastern half of Tropical Storm Tembin contain only low clouds and showers.

Tropical Storm Tembin will be moving through an environment favorable for intensification during the next several days.  Tembin will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperature is near 29°C.  An upper level ridge north of Tembin is producing easterly winds which are blowing toward the top of the circulation.  Those winds are causing moderate vertical wind shear and they are probably the reason why most of the thunderstorms are developing west of the center of circulation.  However, the shear has not been enough to prevent Tembin from organizing and Tembin is likely to strengthen during the next 24 hours.  The center of Tembin will move over Mindanao later on Thursday and it will weaken while the center is over land.  Tropical Storm Tembin will likely intensify once the center moves west of Mindanao.

A subtropical ridge north of Tembin is steering the tropical storm toward the west and a general westerly motion is expected to continue for several more days.  On its anticipated track the center of Tropical Storm Tembin could approach Mindanao in about 24 hours.  Tembin is then forecast to move over the Bohol Sea and Sulu Sea and on toward Palawan.  It currently looks like Tropical Storm Tembin will take a track a little to the south of the track taken by Tropical Storm Kai-tak across the Philippines last week.

Tropical Storm Tembin will drop heavy rain over parts of Mindanao, southern Leyte, Bohol, Cebu, Negros, Siargao, and Dinagat.  The heavy rain could cause floods and mudslides.  The northern part of Tropical Storm Tembin could drop heavy rain in some of the places affected by Tropical Storm Kai-tak last week.  Any additional rain in those locations would hamper efforts to recover from floods and mudslides caused by Kai-tak.

Tropical Storm Kai-Tak continue to move southwest over the South China Sea.  At 4:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday the center of Tropical Storm Kai-tak was located at latitude 6.4°N and longitude 111.1°E which put it about 440 miles (710 km) southeast of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.  Kai-tak was moving toward the southwest at 7 m.p.h. (11 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 45 m.p.h. (75 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 60 m.p.h. (95 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 998 mb.