Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Typhoon Katring (Chaba) Update #12

Typhoon Chaba (Typhoon Katring) continues gain strength. It is now a category 2 typhoon with maximum sustained winds of 165kph and gusts reaching up to 205kph. It is moving west northwestward at around 8kph. Typhoon Chaba looks like it is now undergoing rapid intensification. A well-defined eye has recently emerged, indicating significant intensification.

This sudden burst of strengthening, coupled with the continuous west northwestward movement, forecasts for Typhoon Chaba have changed quite a bit. First, while we still think Chaba will miss the Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa), it may actually pass to the east closer than our previous forecasts. That means, Okinawa and the surrounding areas have a fair chance of experiencing typhoon-force winds beginning Wednesday night into Friday.

Intensity forecasts have also been significantly increased due to the intensification we are currently seeing. Typhoon Chaba may reach Category 4 status with sustained winds of up to 215kph before moving east of Okinawa.

More details on our next update.
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Issued (22 UTC) 6am PhT 102710

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