Typhoon Dolphin moved away from Okinawa and toward eastern China on Friday. At 5:00 p.m. EDT on Friday the center of Typhoon Dolphin was located at latitude 26.6°N and longitude 126.2°E which put the center about 350 miles (565 km) east-southeast of Wenzhou, China. Dolphin was moving toward the west at 11 m.p.h. (17 km/h). The maximum sustained wind speed was 105 m.p.h. (165 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 125 m.p.h. (200 km/h). The minimum surface pressure was 948 mb.
Typhoon Dolphin maintained its intensity as it moved away from Okinawa on Friday. A small circular eye was visible at the center of Dolphin’s circulation. A band of thunderstorms surrounded the eye and the strongest winds were occurring in that band of storms. Bands of showers and thunderstorms were revolving around the core of Dolphin’s circulation. Storms near the core of Dolphin generated upper level divergence that pumped mass away from the typhoon. The removal of mass in the upper levels was nearly equal to the convergence of mass in the lower levels of the atmosphere. So, the surface pressure did not change much on Friday.
Typhoon Dolphin was a large typhoon. Winds to typhoon force extended out 145 miles (235 km) in the northern half of Dolphin’s circulation. Winds to typhoon force extended out 20 miles (30 km) in the southern half of Typhoon Dolphin. Winds to tropical storm force extended out 305 miles (490 km) from the center of Dolphin’s circulation.
The Hurricane Intensity Index (HII) for Typhoon Dolphin is 17.8. The Hurricane Size Index (HSI) is 32.3 and the Hurricane Wind Intensity Size Index (HWISI) is 50.1. Typhoon Dolphin is similar in size and intensity to Hurricane Frances when Frances hit South Florida in 2004.
Typhoon Dolphin will move through an environment that will become less favorable for intensification during the next 24 hours. Dolphin will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperatures are near 30°C. It will move under the middle of an upper level ridge that is over the Western North Pacific Ocean. The upper level winds are weak near the middle of the ridge and there will be little vertical wind shear. However, the circulation around Typhoon Dolphin could pull drier air over China into its circulation. Typhoon Dolphin is likely to start to weaken gradually as it moved closer to eastern China.
Typhoon Dolphin will move around the southern side of a high pressure system that is over the Western North Pacific Ocean. The high pressure system will steer Dolphin toward the west during the next 24 hours. On its anticipated track, the center of Typhoon Dolphin could hit the east coast of China in less than 48 hours.
The large circulation around Typhoon Dolphin will continue to produce strong winds and locally heavy rain to the Ryukyu Islands on Saturday.
Typhoon Dolphin will bring strong winds and heavy rain to parts of eastern China by the end of the weekend. Dolphin will bring strong winds and heavy rain to Zhejiang, Anhui, and Jiangsu. Heavy rain is likely to cause floods in some locations. Typhoon Dolphin could also produce a storm surge of up to 10 feet (3 meters) along parts of the east coast of China.
Elsewhere over the Western North Pacific Ocean, Tropical Storm Chan-hom weakened east of Japan. At 5:00 p.m. EDT on Friday the center of Tropical Storm Chan-hom was located at latitude 32.3°N and longitude 157.3°E which put the center about 1100 miles (1775 km) east of Tokyo, Japan. Chan-hom was moving toward the northwest at 18 m.p.h. (30 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 990 mb.