Typhoon 18W (Jelawat), # 5
Published: September 24, 2012
9 p.m. Monday, Sept. 24, Japan time: Well, Jelawat’s status as a super-duper typhoon didn’t last long. Joint Typhoon Warning Center downgraded it to a regular ol’ run-of-the-mill typhoon with its 6 p.m. (local time) update.
But don’t relax yet, folks. This thing is still a powerful storm whose western quadrants are pummeling the Philippines at the moment. Jelawat is forecast to remain a strong Category 3-equivalent storm, curving northwest toward Taiwan later in the week, then curving north-northeast.
And whether that means a visit to Okinawa is in the cards for yet another weekend still is up in the air. Two clearly delineated groups of computer-generated dynamic aids are still all over the lot, some having it curve sharply east, the other continuing northwest, with a spread of 730 miles.
Jelawat would still be at least five days away from Okinawa, and would still be packing 110-mph winds and 132-mph gusts at 3 p.m. Saturday, when it’s forecast to be 250 miles southwest of Okinawa.
