By Dave Ornauer
Published: November 30, 2012
Noon Saturday, Dec. 1, Japan time: Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness All-Clear has been issued effective midnight Saturday for Okinawa. It will remain that way until June 1, 2013, or unless conditions change sufficiently enough to warrant a TCCOR change.
Simply put, at this time of year, sea-surface temperatures and atmospheric conditions are far cooler than in summer months, and can’t support or sustain a tropical cyclone in the Okinawa/Iwo Jima areas.
By Dave Ornauer
Published: November 25, 2012
A gale warning (non-tropical) has been issued for the Yokosuka and Yokohama area effective 2 to 9 p.m. today (Monday), ATG Western Pacific Ombudsman announced on its Facebook page.
Winds are forecast for 38 to 44 mph sustained, with gusts up to 70 mph.
By Dave Ornauer
Published: October 18, 2012
1:45 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 18, Japan time: This should be the last you’ll hear about the Thai God of Rain in this space.
Okinawa took a licking but kept on ticking last night; top winds were 46-mph sustained and 76-mph gusts just before midnight. Some sporadic power outages were reported.
By Dave Ornauer
Published: October 17, 2012
10:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 17, Japan time: It might seem like much more, but Okinawa remains only in Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness 3 and will experience sustained 40-mph winds and 58-mph gusts through the night into tomorrow morning.
The rumor mill is spinning wildly on Facebook that Japanese authorities have declared TCCOR 1-C (caution) off base. A reminder that while the Japanese might issue their own declarations, American personnel are subject to U.S. Forces Japan instructions regarding TCCORs. And we remain in TCCOR 3 as of this evening.
By Dave Ornauer
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.
By Dave Ornauer
Published: October 15, 2012
8 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16, Japan time: As a precaution, Okinawa entered Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness 3 early this morning, though peak winds are still forecast to be no stronger than 46 mph sustained and 63-mph gusts at 5 p.m. Wednesday. Okinawa should experience sustained 40-mph winds from 11 a.m. Tuesday to 3 a.m. Wednesday, if Prapiroon stays on its current forecast track. The operative word being “if.”
By Dave Ornauer
Published: October 15, 2012
6:45 p.m. Monday, Oct. 15, Japan time: An old 1970s and 80s rocker like myself would say that Typhoon Prapiroon is channeling its inner Foghat, for the album Zig-Zag Walk, recorded in 1982. Most of the young crowd today would prefer the Cupid Shuffle, for Prapiroon seems as if it can’t make up its mind; or, to borrow a line from my blogging idol Stormy, whether it wants to go to the left-left-left or to the right-right-right.
Regardless, what a weird storm! After creepy-crawling northeast for the better part of the weekend, the Thai God of Rain reversed course southwest early Monday, then turned southeast and is quasi-stationary at this writing. Forecasts call for Prapiroon to pick up forward speed northeast and batter Okinawa with sustained 40-mph winds between 5 and 9 a.m. Wednesday. Peak sustained winds of 46 mph and 63-mph gusts are forecast for 8 a.m. Wednesday.
By Dave Ornauer
Published: October 14, 2012
10:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 14, Japan time: Here is the forecast wind timeline for Okinawa for Typhoon Prapiroon. Damaging sustained winds of 58 mph or greater are not forecast to occur:
-- Sustained 35-mph winds and greater, 3 a.m. Wednesday.
-- Sustained 40-mph winds and greater, 5 a.m. Wednesday.
-- Maximum sustained 46-mph winds, 63-mph gusts, 4 p.m. Wednesday.
-- Winds diminishing below 40 mph, 6 a.m. Thursday.
-- Winds diminishing below 35 mph, 8 a.m. Thursday.
By Dave Ornauer
Published: October 14, 2012
6:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 14, Japan time: Well, it was wishful thinking, I guess. Typhoon Prapiroon, though not nearly as big and beastly as Jelawat or Bolaven, apparently will hang close enough to Okinawa to make for a gusty, rainy Wednesday afternoon and evening.
Kadena Air Base’s 18th Wing Weather Flight extended forecast calls for windy, rainy conditions all week, but Wednesday will bring 35-mph sustained winds and 46-mph gusts in the morning, increasing to 40-mph sustained and 63-mph gusts come afternoon and evening. The Thai God of Rain is forecast by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center to rumble about 190 miles east-southeast of Okinawa around 8 p.m. Wednesday.
