WDPN31 PGTW 240900 MSGID/GENADMIN/JOINT TYPHOON WRNCEN PEARL HARBOR HI// SUBJ/PROGNOSTIC REASONING FOR TROPICAL STORM 10W (MA-ON) WARNING NR 012// RMKS/ 1. FOR METEOROLOGISTS. 2. 6 HOUR SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS. SUMMARY: INITIAL POSITION: 19.7N 116.8E INITIAL INTENSITY: 55 KTS GEOGRAPHIC REFERENCE: 213 NM SOUTHEAST OF HONG KONG MOVEMENT PAST 6 HOURS: WEST-NORTHWESTWARD AT 10 KTS SIGNIFICANT WAVE HEIGHT: 21 FEET SATELLITE ANALYSIS, INITIAL POSITION AND INTENSITY DISCUSSION: ANIMATED MULTISPECTRAL SATELLITE IMAGERY (MSI) INDICATES AN EXPOSED LOW-LEVEL CIRCULATION CENTER (LLCC) DECOUPLED FROM THE RAPIDLY-DECAYING DEEP CONVECTION, WHICH IS SHEARING TO THE SOUTHWEST DUE TO HIGH NORTHEASTERLY VERTICAL WIND SHEAR (VWS). A 240552Z ATMS 88.2GHZ MICROWAVE IMAGE SHOWS LIMITED CURVED BANDING OVER THE SOUTHERN SEMICIRCLE WITH A WEAKLY-DEFINED LLCC ON THE NORTHERN EDGE OF THE CONVECTION. THE INITIAL POSITION IS PLACED WITH MEDIUM CONFIDENCE BASED ON MSI. ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS HAVE DEGRADED OVER THE PAST SIX HOURS WITH PERSISTENT, STRONG VWS OFFSET SLIGHTLY BY VIGOROUS EQUATORWARD OUTFLOW AND WARM SST VALUES. THE INITIAL INTENSITY OF 55 KTS IS ASSESSED WITH MEDIUM CONFIDENCE BASED ON THE PGTW DVORAK ESTIMATE. BASED ON THE RAPIDLY WEAKENING CONVECTIVE STRUCTURE, BOTH THE KNES AND RJTD DVORAK INTENSITY ESTIMATES ARE ASSESSED AS BEING TOO HIGH AND WERE POSITIONED IN THE DEEP CONVECTION SOUTH OF THE NOW DECOUPLED AND EXPOSED LLCC. INITIAL WIND RADII BASIS: OBJECTIVE BEST TRACK CURRENT STEERING MECHANISM: LOW- TO MID-LEVEL SUBTROPICAL RIDGE (STR) POSITIONED TO THE NORTH AGENCY DVORAK AND AUTOMATED FIXES: PGTW: T3.5 - 55 KTS RJTD: T4.0 - 65 KTS KNES: T4.0 - 65 KTS CIMSS SATCON: 50 KTS AT 240501Z CIMSS ADT: 47 KTS AT 240540Z FORECASTER ASSESSMENT OF CURRENT ENVIRONMENT: MARGINAL VWS: 30+ KTS SST: 30-31 CELSIUS OUTFLOW: MODERATE EQUATORWARD ANALYSIS CONFIDENCE: INITIAL POSITION: MEDIUM INITIAL INTENSITY: MEDIUM INITIAL WIND RADII: LOW 3. FORECAST REASONING. SIGNIFICANT FORECAST CHANGES: THERE ARE NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO THE FORECAST FROM THE PREVIOUS WARNING. FORECAST DISCUSSION: TS 10W IS FORECAST TO TRACK GENERALLY WEST-NORTHWESTWARD THROUGH THE FORECAST PERIOD WITH LANDFALL EXPECTED NEAR TAU 24. TS 10W WILL GRADUALLY WEAKEN OVER THE NEXT DAY AS IT TRACKS UNDER HIGH NORTHEASTERLY VERTICAL WIND SHEAR. AFTER TAU 24, THE SYSTEM WILL RAPIDLY DISSIPATE AS IT TRACKS INLAND. MODEL DISCUSSION: NUMERICAL MODEL GUIDANCE IS IN TIGHT AGREEMENT WITH A 30-40NM SPREAD IN SOLUTIONS THROUGH THE FORECAST PERIOD, THEREFORE THERE IS HIGH CONFIDENCE IN THE JTWC FORECAST TRACK. THERE IS MEDIUM CONFIDENCE IN THE JTWC INTENSITY FORECAST DUE TO THE SPREAD IN INTENSITY GUIDANCE AT TAU 12. PEAK INTENSITIES RANGE FROM 53 TO 70 KNOTS WITH HWRF ON THE HIGH END OF THE GUIDANCE, HOWEVER, THE 240000Z HWRF SHIPS OUTPUT INDICATES SHEAR MAGNITUDE IN THE 35-40 KNOT RANGE, WHICH SHOULD HINDER INTENSIFICATION. THE JTWC FORECAST IS PLACED AT THE LOWER RANGE OF GUIDANCE WITH THE EXPECTATION THAT THE SYSTEM WILL CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE TO ORGANIZE. FORECAST CONFIDENCE: TRACK 0 - 72 HR: HIGH INTENSITY 0 - 72 HR: MEDIUM// NNNN