WDPN33 PGTW 292100 MSGID/GENADMIN/JOINT TYPHOON WRNCEN PEARL HARBOR HI// SUBJ/PROGNOSTIC REASONING FOR TYPHOON 20W (BANG-LANG) WARNING NR 015// RMKS/ 1. FOR METEOROLOGISTS. 2. 6 HOUR SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS. SUMMARY: INITIAL POSITION: 27.7N 169.2E INITIAL INTENSITY: 65 KTS GEOGRAPHIC REFERENCE: 524 NM NORTH-NORTHEAST OF WAKE ISLAND MOVEMENT PAST 6 HOURS: NORTHWARD AT 24 KTS SIGNIFICANT WAVE HEIGHT: 25 FEET SATELLITE ANALYSIS, INITIAL POSITION AND INTENSITY DISCUSSION: ANIMATED ENHANCED INFRARED (EIR) SATELLITE IMAGERY DEPICTS TYPHOON (TY) 20W (BANG-LANG) WITH QUICKLY COLLAPSING DEEP CONVECTION AND CLOUD TOPS WARMING TO ABOVE -60C WITHIN THE LAST FEW HOURS. ADDITIONALLY, THE LOW-LEVEL CIRCULATION CENTER APPEARS TO BE BARELY PEEKING OUT FROM UNDER THE NORTHWESTERN PERIPHERY OF THE CENTRAL DENSE OVERCAST. THE 291706Z SSMIS MICROWAVE DATA REVEALS THE STRUCTURE OF THE STORM HAS DEGRADED; BOTH THE UPPER AND LOWER LEVELS ARE DISORGANIZED COMPARED TO SEVERAL HOURS AGO. THERE IS NOT EVEN A HINT OF A MICROWAVE EYE IN THE 37 GHZ MICROWAVE IMAGE. ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS REVEALS A MARGINALLY UNFAVORABLE ENVIRONMENT CHARACTERIZED BY HIGH (25-30 KTS) VERTICAL WIND SHEAR (VWS), MARGINAL (0-20 KJ PER CM2) OCEAN HEAT CONTENT (OHC), AND WEAK DRY AIR ENTRAINMENT, SLIGHTLY OFFSET BY DECENT EASTWARD OUTFLOW AND WARM (27-28 C) SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURES (SST). THE INITIAL POSITION IS PLACED WITH MEDIUM CONFIDENCE BASED ON A COMBINATION OF LOW-LEVEL CLOUD BANDING IN ANIMATED EIR AND AGENCY POSITION FIXES. THE INITIAL INTENSITY OF 65 KTS IS ASSESSED WITH MEDIUM CONFIDENCE BASED ON THE SUDDEN AND INTENSE COLLAPSE IN DEEP CONVECTION, CIMSS AUTOMATED INTENSITY ESTIMATES, AND AGENCY DVORAK FIXES. INITIAL WIND RADII BASIS: PERSISTENCE CURRENT STEERING MECHANISM: WESTERN FLANK OF A DEEP-LAYER SUBTROPICAL RIDGE (STR) CENTERED NEAR THE DATELINE AGENCY DVORAK AND AUTOMATED FIXES: PGTW: T4.5 - 77 KTS RJTD: T4.0 - 65 KTS RCTP: T4.0 - 65 KTS KNES: T4.5 - 77 KTS PHFO: T4.5 - 77 KTS CIMSS SATCON: 62 KTS AT 291700Z CIMSS ADT: 47 KTS AT 291900Z CIMSS AIDT: 43 KTS AT 291900Z CIMSS D-MINT: 47 KTS AT 291707Z CIMSS D-PRINT: 47 KTS AT 291900Z FORECASTER ASSESSMENT OF CURRENT ENVIRONMENT: MARGINALLY UNFAVORABLE VWS: 25-30 KTS SST: 27-28 CELSIUS OUTFLOW: MODERATE EASTWARD OTHER FACTORS: WEAK MID-LEVEL DRY AIR ENTRAINMENT 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: TY 20W WILL BEGIN TO TRACK NORTH-NORTHWESTWARD IMMINENTLY, AS THE STEERING STR TO ITS EAST IS WEAKENED BY A PASSING UPPER-LEVEL TROUGH AND 20W CONTINUES TO INTERACT WITH TROPICAL STORM (TS) 21W TO ITS NORTHWEST. BETWEEN TAU 24-36, 20W IS EXPECTED TO CURVE TO THE NORTHEAST AS IT BEGINS SUBTROPICAL TRANSITION AND GETS PICKED UP BY THE UPPER-LEVEL TROUGH. SUBTROPICAL TRANSITION IS FORECAST TO BEGIN AROUND TAU 36 AND COMPLETE NO LATER THAN TAU 48. REGARDING INTENSITY, 20W IS EXPECTED TO QUICKLY WEAKEN THROUGH TAU 36, AND SUSTAIN ITS INTENSITY FROM TAU 36-48 AS A SUBTROPICAL SYSTEM. THE ENVIRONMENT WILL GET INCREASINGLY HOSTILE AS 20W TRACKS POLEWARD, WITH VWS EXPECTED TO INCREASE FROM 25 KTS TO 55 KTS OVER THE COURSE OF THE FORECAST PERIOD. CONSEQUENTLY, DRY AIR IS EXPECTED TO FURTHER ENTRAIN INTO THE CORE, ESPECIALLY AFTER TAU 24. 20W IS EXPECTED TO CROSS THE 26C ISOTHERM AROUND TAU 12, HASTENING WEAKENING THEREAFTER. MODEL DISCUSSION: DETERMINISTIC MODEL TRACK GUIDANCE IS IN FAIR AGREEMENT THROUGH THE FORECAST PERIOD, THOUGH THERE IS A DISTINCT SPREAD BETWEEN HISTORICALLY RELIABLE MODELS -- GFS, ECMWF, AND EXPERIMENTAL AI MODELS -- AND THE HISTORICALLY WEAKER PERFORMING MODELS -- UKMET, GSM, NAVGEM, AND GALWEM -- THE LATTER GROUP HEAVILY INFLUENCING THE MULTI-MODEL CONSENSUS. AS A RESULT, THE JTWC TRACK FORECAST IS PLACED IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE GROUPING OF RELIABLE MODELS WITH OVERALL MEDIUM CONFIDENCE. RELIABLE INTENSITY AIDS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT IN A SWIFT WEAKENING TREND THROUGH TAU 36, WITH SLIGHT DISAGREEMENT IN INTENSITY ONCE 20W BEGINS SUBTROPICAL TRANSITION AT TAU 36. AS A RESULT, THE JTWC INTENSITY FORECAST IS ASSESSED WITH OVERALL MEDIUM CONFIDENCE. FORECAST CONFIDENCE: TRACK 00-72 HR: MEDIUM INTENSITY 00-72 HR: MEDIUM// NNNN