Tag Archives: Tropical Storm Kujira

Typhoon Dolphin Continues Toward Okinawa

Typhoon Dolphin continued to move toward Okinawa on Wednesday.  At 11:00 p.m. EDT on Wednesday the center of Typhoon Dolphin was located at latitude 26.3°N and longitude 132.9°E which put the center about 355 miles (570 km) east of Okinawa.  Dolphin was moving toward the west at 15 m.p.h. (24 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 956 mb.

Typhoon Dolphin weakened slowly on Wednesday.  The circulation around Dolphin pulled some drier air close to the core of the typhoon.  The drier air caused thunderstorms in some parts of Typhoon Dolphin to weaken.

There was still a small circular eye at the center of Typhoon Dolphin.  The eye was surrounded by a ring of thunderstorms and the strongest winds were occurring in that ring of storms.   Bands of showers and thunderstorms still were revolving around the core of Dolphin’s circulation.  There were wider areas of clear air in between the rainbands.  Storms near the core of Dolphin generated less upper level divergence that pumped less mass away from the typhoon. The removal of mass in the upper levels was less than the convergence of mass in the lower levels of the atmosphere.  So, the surface pressure increased on Wednesday.

The circulation around Typhoon Dolpin was still large on Wednesday.  Winds to typhoon force extended out 140 miles (220 km) from the center of Dolphin’s circulation.  Winds to tropical storm force extended out 305 miles (490 km) from the center of Typhoon Dolphin.

The Hurricane Intensity Index (HII) for Typhoon Dolphin is 13.9.  The Hurricane Size Index (HSI) is 44.7 and the Hurricane Wind Intensity Size Index (HWISI) is 58.6. Typhoon Dolphin is similar in intensity to Hurricane Sandy was when Sandy hit the East Coast of the U.S. in 2012.  Typhoon Dolphin is not quite as big as Sandy was.

Typhoon Dolphin will move through an environment that will be favorable for a strong typhoon 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 drier air being pulled into Dolphin’s circulation will inhibit intensification.  Typhoon Dolphin is likely to maintain its intensity on Thursday.

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 will be near Minami Daito Jima in 12 hours. The center of Typhoon Dolpin will approach Okinawa in 24 hours,

Typhoon Dolphin will bring strong winds and heavy rain to Minami Daito Jima and to the central Ryukyu Islands including Okinawa later this week.  Heavy rains are likely to cause flash floods in some locations.  Typhoon Dolphin could also cause a storm surge of up to 10 feet (3 meters) along the coast of some of the islands.

Elsewhere over the Western North Pacific Ocean, Tropical Storm Kujira dropped heavy rain on parts of Luzon.  Kujira weakened to a tropical depression after the center moved over Luzon.  At 11:00 p.m. EDT on Wednesday the center of Tropical Depression Kujira was located at latitude 17.3°N and longitude 121.6°E which put the center about 25 miles (40 km) northwest of Cauayan, Philippines.  Kujira was moving toward the east-southeast at 7 m.p.h. (11 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 997 mb.

 

Typhoon Dolphin Moves Toward Okinawa

Typhoon Dolphin moved toward Okinawa on Tuesday.  At 11:00 p.m. EDT on Tuesday the center of Typhoon Dolphin was located at latitude 25.5°N and longitude 137.7°E which put the center about 655 miles (1055 km) east of Okinawa.  Dolphin was moving toward the west at 11 m.p.h. (17 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 115 m.p.h. (185 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 145 m.p.h. (235 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 943 mb.

The intensity of Typhoon Dolphin fluctuated a little on Tuesday, but Dolphin ended the day as strong as it was when the day started.  A circular eye with a diameter of 25 miles (40 km) was at the center of Dolphin’s circulation.  The eye was surrounded by a ring of thunderstorms and the strongest winds were occurring in that ring of storms.

Typhoon Dolphin appeared to pull some drier air into its circulation on Tuesday.  Bands of showers and thunderstorms still were revolving around the core of Dolphin’s circulation.  However, there were wider areas of clear air in between the rainbands.  Storms near the core of Dolphin generated strong 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 again on Tuesday.

The circulation around Typhoon Dolpin got even larger on Tuesday.  Winds to typhoon force extended out 130 miles (210 km) from the center of Dolphin’s circulation.  Winds to tropical storm force extended out 290 miles (465 km) from the center of Typhoon Dolphin.

The Hurricane Intensity Index (HII) for Typhoon Dolphin is 20.6.  The Hurricane Size Index (HSI) is 40.6 and the Hurricane Wind Intensity Size Index (HWISI) is 61.2.  Typhoon Dolphin is similar in intensity to Hurricane Irma was when Irma hit South Florida in 2017.  Typhoon Dolphin is much larger than Irma was.

Typhoon Dolphin will move through an environment that will be favorable for a powerful typhoon during the next 24 hours.  Dolphin will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperatures are near 29°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.  Typhoon Dolphin is likely to maintain its intensity on Wednesday unless another eyewall replacement cycle occurs.

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 will be near Minami Daito Jima in less than 36 hours.  The center of Typhoon Dolpin will be near Okinawa in 48 hours,

Typhoon Dolphin will bring strong winds and heavy rain to Minami Daito Jima and to the central Ryukyu Islands including Okinawa later this week.  Heavy rains are likely to cause flash floods in some locations.  Typhoon Dolphin could also cause a storm surge of up to 10 feet (3 meters) along the coast of some of the islands.

Elsewhere over the Western North Pacific Ocean, Tropical Storm Kujira formed west of Luzon.  At 11:00 p.m. EDT on Tuesday the center of Tropical Storm Kujira was located at latitude 17.6°N and longitude 119.0°E which put the center about 260 miles (420 km) northwest of Manila, Philippines.  Kujira was moving toward the west-northwest at 3 m.p.h. (5 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 999 mb.

Tropical Storm Kujira Forms West of Wake Island

Tropical Storm Kujira formed west of Wake Island on Saturday.  At 11:00 p.m. EDT on Saturday the center of Tropical Storm Kujira was located at latitude 21.1°N and longitude 158.5°E which put it about 515 miles (830 km) west of Wake Island.  Kujira was moving toward the northwest at 9 m.p.h. (15 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 maximum sustained wind speed was 1002 mb.

Tropical Storm Kujira was moving around the eastern side of an upper level low.  The upper low was causing vertical wind shear which was causing the distribution of thunderstorms to be asymmetrical.  There were few thunderstorms near the center of the circulation.  Many of the thunderstorms were occurring in bands east and south of the center of Kujira.  Bands in the western half of the circulation consisted primarily of showers and lower clouds. Winds to tropical storm force extended out 200 miles (320 km) in the southeastern quadrant of Tropical Storm Kujjira.  The winds in the other parts of the circulation were blowing at less than tropical storm force.

Tropical Storm Kujira will move through an environment favorable for intensification after it moves away from the upper level low.  When Kujira moves away from the upper low, the vertical wind shear will decrease.  Tropical Storm Kujira will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperature is near 28°C.  Kujira will intensify when the wind shear decreases.   It could strengthen into a typhoon in two or three days.

The upper level low will pull Tropical Storm Kujira toward the northwest during the next 12 to 24 hours.  Then Kujira will move around the western end of a subtropical high pressure system over the Western North Pacific Ocean.  The high will steer Tropical Storm Kujira toward the north for 24 to 36 hours.  Kujira will eventually be steered toward the northeast when it reaches the westerly winds in the middle latitudes.  On its anticipated track Tropical Storm Kujira will pass well to the east of Japan.