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Wutip has intensified into a Typhoon this evening as it meanders across the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea. The storm center was last located approximately 600km south southwest of Hong Kong or about 940km southeast of Hanoi, Vietnam. Maximum sustained winds are now up to 120kph with gusts of up to 150kph. Typhoon Wutip is moving westward at 5kph.
IR Image from NRLMRY
Latest satellite image continues to show an expanding central dense overcast with strong convection near the center. An eye formed on the visible satellite image earlier this afternoon but was hard to discern on the infra-red due to its small size. Microwave imagery is also having difficulty portraying the small core of Wutip. Nevertheless, we do expect it to continue intensifying over the next 24 hours due to good poleward outflow, weak wind shear, and warm sea surface temperatures.
Typhoon Wutip will pass south of Hainan Island tomorrow and could intensify further into Category 2. It will then make landfall in Central Vietnam by early Monday morning bringing rains and strong winds in the area. After landfall, Wutip should rapidly weaken and will cross into Laos possibly as a tropical depression.
We'll have another update tomorrow morning.
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