Typhoon Bavi moved away from the Marianas on Monday. At 5:00 p.m. EDT on Monday the center of Typhoon Bavi was located at latitude 16.0°N and longitude 140.4°E which put the center about 300 miles (480 km) west-northwest of Guam. Bavi was moving toward the west-northwest at 18 m.p.h. (30 km/h). The maximum sustained wind speed was 155 m.p.h. (250 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 190 m.p.h. (305 km/h). The minimum surface pressure was 921 mb.
Typhoon Bavi was in the middle of another eyewall replacement cycle on Monday afternoon. An inner eye with a diameter of 25 miles (40 km) was at the center of Bavi’s circulation. The inner eye was surrounded by a ring of thunderstorms and the strongest winds were occurring in that ring of storms. The inner end of a rainband wrapped around the inner eye and eyewall. A larger, outer eyewall surrounded those features.
Bands of showers and thunderstorms revolved around the concentric eyewalls in the middle of Typhoon Bavi. Storms near the center of Bavi generated upper level divergence that pumped mass away from the typhoon. However, the removal of mass in the upper levels was less that the convergence of mass in the lower levels of the atmosphere. So, the surface pressure increased on Monday.
The circulation around Typhoon Bavi grew even larger on Monday as the eyewall replacement cycle was underway. Winds to typhoon force extended out 115 miles (185 km) from the center of Bavi’s circulation. Winds to tropical storm force extended out 300 miles (480 km) from the center of Typhoon Bavi.
The Hurricane Intensity Index (HII) for Typhoon Bavi is 33.3. The Hurricane Size Index (HSI) is 36.4 and the Hurricane Wind Intensity Size Index (HWISI) is 69.7. Typhoon Bavi is similar in intensity to Hurricane Ian when Ian hit Southwest Florida in 2022. Typhoon Bavi is much larger than Ian was.
Typhoon Bavi will more through an environment that will be favorable for a powerful typhoon during the next 24 hours. Bavi will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperatures are near 29°C. It will move through a region where the upper level winds are weak and there will be little vertical wind shear. The eyewall replacement cycle currently underway will cause Typhoon Bavi to weaken during the next few hours. Bavi could strengthen again after the eyewall replacement cycle is completed.
Typhoon Bavi 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 Bavi toward the west-northwest during the next 24 hours. On its anticipated track, Typhoon Bavi will approach the southern Ryukyu Islands and Taiwan in less than four days.
