Typhoon 17W (Sanba), # 16: Sasebo on lookout as well
Published: September 14, 2012
9:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 15, Japan time: Sanba was downgraded to regular ol’ typhoon status overnight Friday, but it remains a dangerous Category 4-equivalent storm as it bears down on Okinawa. The island remained in Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness 2 early Saturday morning; TCCORs are expected to change rapidly as Sanba rumbles northwest toward closest point of approach, forecast to be 16 miles east of Kadena Air Base at 4 a.m. Sunday. It will still be packing sustained 127-mph sustained winds and 155-mph gusts at its center.
Latest forecast wind timeline courtesy of Kadena’s 18th Wing Weather Flight:
-- Sustained 35-mph winds or greater, noon Saturday.
-- Sustained 40-mph winds or greater, 2 p.m. Saturday.
-- Sustained 58-mph winds or greater, 9 p.m. Saturday.
-- Maximum 127-mph winds and 155-mph gusts, 5 a.m. Sunday.
-- Winds diminishing below 58 mph, 2 p.m. Sunday.
-- Winds diminishing below 40 mph, 7 p.m. Sunday.
-- Winds diminishing below 35 mph, 11 p.m. Sunday.
Though Sanba is forecast to rumble 112 miles west of Sasebo around 5 a.m. Monday, Sasebo Naval Base set TCCOR 4 early Saturday morning as a precaution. Local forecasts call for maximum winds of 35 to 45 mph with gusts up to 60 overnight Sunday into Monday, with showers and thunderstorms throughout the period.
Korea can expect Sanba to remain a powerful Category 1-equivalent storm, packing sustained 104-mph winds and 127-mph gusts as it slams ashore along the southern coast at mid-morning Monday. Chinhae Naval Base (30 miles west at 10 a.m.) and Pusan (57 miles west at 11 a.m.) should bear the brunt of the storm, though Daegu (20 miles west at 1 p.m.) should take some hard knocks as well as Sanba roars through the southern peninsula, then exits into the sea of Japan as a severe tropical storm. Osan and Kunsan Air Base, Camp Humphreys, Camp Red Cloud and Yongsan Garrison should take heed as well; Sanba could end up tracking further west and make for a miserable Monday there, too.
