Tropical Storm 22W (Prapiroon), # 9: Downgraded but still a nuisance
Published: October 16, 2012
10:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16, Japan time: The Thai God of Rain, Prapiroon, was downgraded to a mere tropical storm Tuesday, never coming close to its peak forecast 115-mph gusts that the Joint Typhoon Warning Center predicted in the storm’s infancy.
Kadena Air Base’s 18th Wing Weather Flight forecast calls for 30-mph sustained winds and 40-mph gusts with rainshowers Wednesday morning, increasing to 40-mph sustained and 52-mph gusts in the afternoon and night into Thursday morning, before dropping off into the weekend.
What’s left of Prapiroon should pass well off shore, some 330 miles southeast of Yokosuka Naval Base around 8 a.m. Saturday. Yokosuka’s local forecast calls for winds to start increasing Thursday, up to 30-mph gusts by evening increasing afterward.