Super Typhoon 18W (Jelawat), # 7; Tropical Storm 19W (Ewiniar), # 1
Published: September 24, 2012
Noon Tuesday, Sept. 25, Japan time: Super now, not-so-super later.
Forecast models are slowly coming into agreement that Super Typhoon Jelawat will curve toward Okinawa after making a brief visit to Taiwan. The question being, how soon that curve will be and how powerful Jelawat will remain. It’s still a good five days away and the specifics are far from clear.
For the moment, Joint Typhoon Warning Center projects that Jelawat will have long ago shed its “super” status but remain a powerful Category 1-equivalent typhoon as it rapidly rolls past Okinawa early Sunday morning. The closest point of approach is projected for 9 miles west of Kadena at 4 a.m. when it will still be packing 80 mph sustained winds and 98 mph gusts.
All of this could change. Keep an eye on PST for the latest.
As for Tropical Storm Ewiniar, it is forecast to remain well off Japan’s east coast as it makes a zig-zag path north, some 250 miles southeast of Narita International Airport at 4 a.m. Saturday. Its forecast path has varied as well. We’ll keep an eyeball on it as well.