Typhoon 16W (Bolaven), # 10; Tropical Storm 15W (Tembin), # 3
Published: August 24, 2012
7:45 p.m. Friday, Aug. 24, Japan time: To suggest that this storm is immense is to call Muhammad Ali a prize fighter.
North to south, Typhoon Bolaven stretches from parallels 28 North to 12 North, a span of 630 miles from outer bands to outer bands. Nearer Bolaven’s center, the really bad stuff, 58-mph-plus winds, reaches 314 miles across.
So even if Bolaven doesn’t make a direct hit on Okinawa, the island will likely feel the type of wrath it hasn’t felt since perhaps Typhoon Bart in 1999.
Expect an upgrade to Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness 2 early Saturday morning; destructive winds of 58 mph or greater anticipated within 24 hours.
Bolaven has veered slightly further north than forecast over the last six hours, but remains on course to slam 7 miles north of Kadena Air Base at mid-afternoon Sunday, still packing Category 4-equivalent sustained 138-mph winds and 167-mph gusts at its center. 15 to 17 inches of rain are forecast through Bolaven’s duration around Okinawa.
Latest Kadena 18th Wing Weather Flight forecast wind timeline:
-- Sustained 35-mph winds and greater, 8 a.m. Saturday.
-- Sustained 40-mph winds and greater, 7 p.m. Saturday.
-- Sustained 58-mph winds and greater, 3 a.m. Sunday.
-- Maximum 138-mph sustained winds and 167-mph gusts, 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday.
-- Winds diminishing below 58 mph, 11 p.m. Sunday.
-- Winds diminishing below 40 mph, 7 a.m. Monday.
-- Winds diminishing below 35 mph, 6 p.m. Monday.
Following its unpleasant stay around Okinawa, Bolaven is forecast to continue northwest into the Yellow Sea (or West Sea), veering north and northeast just off the west coast of the Korean peninsula.
Korea won’t feel the wrath that Okinawa did, but U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan officials say forecasts call for wind gusts exceeding 58 mph and between 6 to 12 inches of rain.
For more, stay with PST or tune in to AFN Korea TV, visit your garrison command’s official or Facebook Web pages.
To Okinawa’s southwest, Tembin, following its passage over southern Taiwan, was downgraded to a tropical storm but should rapidly rebuild into a Category 1-equivalent typhoon, do a sharp about-face and head northeast, gradually diminishing and passing 237 miles west of Okinawa at mid-afternoon Wednesday. PST will advise if Tembin changes its mind and rumbles closer to the island.
