A tropical depression formed over the South China Sea near the Spratly Islands on Saturday night. At 10:00 p.m. EST on Saturday the center of the tropical Depression was located at latitude 9.5°N and longitude 114.4°E which put the center about 450 miles (725 km) east of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The tropical depression was moving toward the northwest at 5 m.p.h. (8 km/h). The maximum sustained wind speed was 35 m.p.h. (55 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 45 m.p.h. (75 km/h). The minimum surface pressure was 1004 mb.
A low pressure system over the South China Sea near the Spratly Islands exhibited more organization on Saturday night and the Japan Meteorological Agency designated the system as a tropical depression. More thunderstorms formed near the center of the tropical depression. Thunderstorms were occurring in bands to the north and west of the center. Bands in the southern and eastern parts of the tropical depression consisted primarily of showers and lower clouds. Storms near the center generated upper level divergence that pumped mass away to the north and west of the tropical depression.
The tropical depression will move through an environment favorable for intensification during the next 24 hours. The tropical depression will move over water where where the Sea Surface Temperatures are near 29°C. It will move under the western part of an upper level ridge over the Western North Pacific Ocean. The upper level ridge will produce southeasterly winds that will blow toward the top of the tropical depression. Those winds will cause moderate vertical wind shear. The vertical wind shear will inhibit intensification, but the shear will not be enough to prevent intensification. The tropical depression could intensify to a tropical storm on Sunday.
The tropical depression will move around the southwestern part of a high pressure system over the Western North Pacific Ocean. The high pressure system will steer the tropical depression slowly toward the northwest during the next 24 hours. On its anticipated track, the tropical depression will move toward Vietnam.