Super Typhoon 18W (Jelawat), # 8: Okinawa on Saturday; Kanto next?
Published: September 25, 2012
6:45 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 25, Japan time: Looks as if Jelawat should retain its super-duper typhoon status for the next day, then gradually start weakening as it churns north-northwest into (somewhat) cooler latitudes, wind shear increases and sea-surface temperatures decrease. Jelawat is forecast to do a hard right face around 3 p.m. Friday, then begin trekking toward Okinawa and closest-point-of-approach some 10 miles west of Kadena Air Base around 10 p.m. Saturday, as forecast by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.
Jelawat is forecast to move rapidly through the Okinawa area, but not after battering the island with Category 2-equivalent 104-mph sustained winds and 127-mph gusts.
If it continues on its forecast track, expect changes to season Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness 4 for Okinawa sometime Thursday evening; which could change, depending on the storm’s strength and forward speed.
Jelawat might not be done with U.S. facilities in the Pacific after that. Initial forecasts show Jelawat then making tracks rapidly northeast in the general direction of Tokyo and the Kanto Plain. Naturally, PST will keep a sharp eye on that as well.
