Tropical Depression 12W (Haikui), # 2
Published: August 2, 2012
7:40 p.m. Friday, Aug. 3, Japan time: Tropical Depression Haikui is starting to haul at a pretty good clip west-northwest toward a possible rendezvous just north of Okinawa on Monday, and is forecast to lash the island with 52-mph sustained winds and 75-mph gusts from around 6 a.m. until midnight. Rainfall of between 15 to 18 inches is also on tap.
U.S. bases on Okinawa remained in Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness 4 on Friday evening; that’s could change around mid-morning Saturday. Haikui was 757 miles east-southeast of Kadena Air Base at 3 p.m. Friday and charging west-northwest at 15 mph.
From the better to be safe than sorry file: It’d be a fortuitous idea if you’d begin a general cleanup outside your quarters or your office, tie down or store loose objects, haul the trampoline and bicycles inside.
Check what’s in your closets, make that commissary run and beat the rush.
Gas up.
And visit the ATM machine; pull out enough cash and yen to last a few days in case the power vanishes for a bit.
Haikui is not forecast to be an overly powerful storm (yet); however, it’s projected to stick around for a bit after it rumbles some 80 miles north of the island around 6 a.m. Monday. Almost as if it’s stopping to climb the cliffs around Cape Hedo and taking a long look around, perhaps making up its mind which way to go next.
A reminder, especially for those new to the island: The 18th Wing commanding officer, Brig. Gen. Matt H. Molloy, speaks in one voice for all U.S. bases on the entire island when it comes to issuing TCCORs. He receives TCCOR recommendations from his 18th Wing Weather Flight and declares appropriate TCCORs based on that information.
The only exception is when a storm exits the island, if one particular base or another faces issues such as flooding, downed trees or power lines that may take more time to clear than at other bases. Then, that camp might remain in TCCOR 1-R (recovery) or SW (storm watch) longer than others.
BTW, for those wondering about the name, Haikui does sound a bit … um … poetic (pardon the pun), but it is Chinese for a type of submarine animal whose appearance is likened to that of a sunflower.
Noon Friday, Aug. 3, Japan time: A new tropical depression spawned overnight Thursday southeast of Iwo Jima. Initial forecasts call for 12W to rumble rapidly west-northwest on a path that should take it about 80 miles north of Okinawa at 4 a.m. Monday, after which it’s forecast to pause, almost as if it’s making up its mind where it wants to go after that.
Kadena Air Base’s 18th Wing Weather Flight extended forecast calls for a blustery, wet Monday and Tuesday for Okinawa. Maximum sustained 63-mph winds and 80-mph gusts are projected between noon Monday and 6 a.m. Tuesday. Due to its slow movement, 20 to 25 inches of rain are forecast.
PST will keep a sharp eye on it.
