TS Songda (Chedeng) Update #8

Tropical Storm Songda has entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility a few hours ago; it now adopts the name "Bagyong Chedeng" assigned by PAGASA. TS Songda remains a strong tropical storm with winds of up to 100kph (and gusts as high as 130kph). Songda is moving WNW at 15kph.

Dry air has limited the development somewhat this past six hours although recent ir imagery depicts convection trying to rebuild on the northwestern side of the storm. It is very likely Songda will attain Typhoon status today. It should continue to strengthen as it moves close to the Philippines, becoming a major typhoon as early as Wednesday. Computer models are actually in good agreement today, forecasting a track just east of Luzon. UKMET is still the outlier which forecasts a landfall somewhere in eastern Luzon, just something to keep in mind.

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Issued (2130 UTC) 530am PhT 052311