WDPN31 PGTW 041500 MSGID/GENADMIN/JOINT TYPHOON WRNCEN PEARL HARBOR HI// SUBJ/PROGNOSTIC REASONING FOR TROPICAL STORM 22W (KROVANH) WARNING NR 014// RMKS/ 1. FOR METEOROLOGISTS. 2. 6 HOUR SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS. SUMMARY: INITIAL POSITION: 28.7N 127.4E INITIAL INTENSITY: 40 KTS GEOGRAPHIC REFERENCE: 134 NM NORTH OF KADENA AB MOVEMENT PAST 6 HOURS: SOUTHWARD AT 11 KTS SIGNIFICANT WAVE HEIGHT: 20 FEET SATELLITE ANALYSIS, INITIAL POSITION AND INTENSITY DISCUSSION: TROPICAL STORM (TS) 22W HAS BEGUN ITS LONG-AWAITED PIVOT AND HAS REVERSED COURSE, TRACKING EQUATORWARD AT 11 KTS. ANIMATED SHORTWAVE INFRARED (SWIR) IMAGERY DEPICTS A FULLY EXPOSED LOW-LEVEL CIRCULATION CENTER, WITH CONVECTION CONFINED TO THE NORTHEASTERN PERIPHERY. THIS CONVECTION IS ENHANCED BY A STRONG POLEWARD OUTFLOW CHANNEL INTO A 150-KT JET STREAK AHEAD OF THE AFOREMENTIONED TROUGH. TO THE NORTH, A TROUGH IS RAPIDLY TRAVERSING THE SEA OF JAPAN, AND BEHIND IT, A SURFACE RIDGE IS BUILDING SOUTHEASTWARD. CONSEQUENTLY, VERY DRY, COOL AIR IS BEING ADVECTED EQUATORWARD AND INTO THE LLCC. THUS, THE WESTERN SIDE HAS LARGELY BEEN DEVOID OF CONVECTION. AN UPPER-LEVEL RIDGE IS ALSO IMPARTING MODERATE TO HIGH, NORTHWESTERLY VERTICAL WIND SHEAR (VWS). WHILE THE OVERALL ENVIRONMENT IS UNFAVORABLE, THE BROAD CIRCULATION IS PUSHED UP AGAINST THE NORTHEASTERLY COOL SURGE, RESULTING IN A TIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENT AND 40-KT MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ALONG THE NORTHERN PERIPHERY. RECENT SHIP OBSERVATIONS CONTINUED TO REPORT 33-42 KT WIND SPEEDS IN THE VICINITY OF TS 22W. AN EARLIER 040144Z ASCAT-C PASS DEPICTED A LARGE AREA OF GALES ALONG THE NORTHERN PERIPHERY. BASED ON THESE OBSERVATIONS AND THE VIRTUALLY UNCHANGED SATELLITE PRESENTATION OF TS 22W, THE INITIAL INTENSITY HAS BEEN HELD AT 40 KTS WITH HIGH CONFIDENCE, WHICH IS A LITTLE HIGHER THAN THE T2.0-2.5 SUBJECTIVE DVORAK CLASSIFICATIONS AND ON THE HIGHER END OF THE CIMSS OBJECTIVE INTENSITY ESTIMATES. THE INITIAL POSITION IS ASSESSED WITH HIGH CONFIDENCE BASED ON THE SWIR IMAGERY. INITIAL WIND RADII BASIS: PERSISTENCE CURRENT STEERING MECHANISM: SOUTHEASTERN FLANK OF A RIDGE POSITIONED OVER NORTHEAST CHINA AGENCY DVORAK AND AUTOMATED FIXES: PGTW: T2.0 - 30 KTS RJTD: T2.0 - 30 KTS RCTP: T2.5 - 35 KTS KNES: T2.0 - 30 KTS CIMSS ADT: 33 KTS AT 040840Z CIMSS AIDT: 37 KTS AT 040840Z CIMSS D-PRINT: 33 KTS AT 041340Z FORECASTER ASSESSMENT OF CURRENT ENVIRONMENT: UNFAVORABLE VWS: 20-25 KTS SST: 27-29 CELSIUS OUTFLOW: STRONG POLEWARD OTHER FACTORS: DRY AIR ANALYSIS CONFIDENCE: INITIAL POSITION: HIGH INITIAL INTENSITY: HIGH INITIAL WIND RADII: MEDIUM 3. FORECAST REASONING. SIGNIFICANT FORECAST CHANGES: THERE ARE NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO THE FORECAST FROM THE PREVIOUS WARNING. FORECAST DISCUSSION: NOW THAT TS 22W HAS BEGUN TO TRAVEL SOUTHWARD, THIS MOTION WILL CONTINUE THROUGH TAU 12. IT WILL THEN ENCOUNTER WESTERLY TO SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW ALONG THE SOUTHERN PERIPHERY OF A LARGE CYCLONIC CAULDRON OF THE MONSOON TROUGH AND TURN EASTWARD. BY TAU 60, THE SYSTEM WILL ENCOUNTER THE WESTERN FLANK OF A STR POSITIONED EAST OF HONSHU AND TURN POLEWARD. TROPICAL DISTURBANCE 97W HAS DEVELOPED INTO TS 23W, AND ITS STRONGER-THAN-PREDICTED VORTEX WILL YANK THE EASTERN PERIPHERY OF THE CAULDRON MORE STRONGLY NORTHWARD. THEREFORE, THE TRACK HAS SHIFTED MORE SHARPLY POLEWARD THIS CYCLE. A FAST-MOVING TROUGH WILL APPROACH HONSHU BY TAU 96 AND FLATTEN THE STR. THIS WILL ALLOW THE MID-LATITUDE WESTERLIES TO DRIVE THE SYSTEM NORTHEASTWARD. THE INTENSITY FORECAST HAS CHANGED LITTLE. THE STRONG SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE TS INTENSITY WILL EASE OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS, ALLOWING THE INTENSITY TO DECREASE. WHILE THE SYSTEM WILL MOVE INTO A MORE FAVORABLE ENVIRONMENT OF LOWER SHEAR AND HIGHER MOISTURE CONTENT, THE BROAD CIRCULATION WILL NEED TIME TO RECOVER AND CONSOLIDATE. AS TS 22W ACCELERATES IN THE LATTER PART OF THE FORECAST PERIOD, IT WILL HAVE LITTLE TIME TO INTENSIFY PRIOR TO INTERACTING WITH THE LANDMASS OF HONSHU. MODEL DISCUSSION: THE ENTIRE MODEL GUIDANCE SUITE IN THE EARLY TAUS HAS SHIFTED SIGNIFICANTLY WESTWARD, POTENTIALLY DUE TO THE SIGNIFICANT AND UNEXPECTEDLY FAST EQUATORWARD MOTION OVER THE PAST SIX HOURS. THE JTWC FORECAST TRACK DOES NOT JUMP SHARPLY TO THE CORE GUIDANCE ENVELOPE AND INSTEAD IS A BLEND OF THE PREVIOUS FORECAST WITH THE CURRENT GUIDANCE. THE OVERALL CURVE OF THE TRACK HAS NOT CHANGED, BUT THE JTWC FORECAST TRACK HAS SHIFTED A BIT WESTWARD AT TAU 96, OWING TO THE STRONGER INFLUENCE OF TS 23W ON THE EASTERN SIDE OF THE CAULDRON. THE JTWC INTENSITY FORECAST IS VERY SIMILAR TO THE PREVIOUS FORECAST AND IS WELL-ALIGNED WITH THE CONSENSUS. FORECAST CONFIDENCE: TRACK 00-72 HR: MEDIUM TRACK 72-120 HR: LOW INTENSITY 00-72 HR: MEDIUM INTENSITY 72-120 HR: MEDIUM// NNNN