Typhoon Maysak weakened slowly on Thursday as it moved in the direction of Luzon.  At 11:00 p.m. EDT on Thursday the center of Typhoon Maysak was located at latitude 14.3°N and longitude 130.6°E which put it about 420 miles east of Catanduanes Island and about 580 miles east-southeast of Luzon.  Maysak was moving toward the west-northwest at 11 m.p.h.  The maximum sustained wind speed was 110 m.p.h. and there were wind gusts to 130 m.p.h.  The minimum surface pressure was 948 mb.

An upper level trough passing north of Maysak is generating vertical wind shear which is causing the typhoon to weaken slowly.  The western side of the trough contains some drier air which is also getting into the circulation of Maysak.  The drier air is reducing the amount of latent energy available to maintain the circulation.  So, even though Maysak is still over warm Sea Surface Temperatures it is slowly weakening.  The wind shear may decrease after the upper level trough moves east of Maysak, but as the typhoon moves further west, it will still encounter drier air.  As a result, Maysak it expected to continue to slowly weaken.

A subtropical ridge is steering Maysak in a west-northwesterly direction.  The upper level trough has temporarily weakened the ridge and Maysak is moving a bit more toward the northwest.  After the upper level trough moves east of the typhoon, it is expected to resume a west-northwesterly motion.  The expected track would bring Maysak close to Luzon in 36 to 42 hours.  Maysak is expected to be a low end typhoon or strong tropical storm when it nears Luzon.  It will be capable of producing some stronger winds and locally heavy rainfall as it moves across Luzon.