Friday, 15 February 2013

Current Southern Hemisphere Tropical Systems: Tropical Cyclone 15S (Gino)



 
 
150300Z POSITION NEAR 25.9S 83.7E.
TROPICAL CYCLONE (TC) 15S (GINO), LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 1275 NM 
SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF DIEGO GARCIA, HAS TRACKED SOUTHEASTWARD AT 13 
KNOTS OVER THE PAST SIX HOURS. ANIMATED INFRARED SATELLITE IMAGERY 
SHOWS THAT THE LOW-LEVEL CIRCULATION CENTER (LLCC) HAS STARTED TO 
ELONGATE AND DEEP CONVECTION IS NOW SHEARED 30NM FROM THE LLCC, 
INDICATIVE OF THE BEGINNING OF EXTRA-TROPICAL TRANSITION (ETT). A 
RECENT 150006Z SSMIS 91GHZ MICROWAVE IMAGE ALSO DEPICTS THE 
BEGINNING OF ETT, AS THE DEEP CONVECTION HAS BECOME CONFINED TO THE 
SOUTHEAST QUADRANT AND DRY AIR IS BEGINNING TO WRAP AROUND THE 
SYSTEM. THE INITIAL POSITION IS BASED UPON A BROAD LLCC IN THE 
MICROWAVE IMAGE WITH FAIR CONFIDENCE. THE INITIAL INTENSITY IS 
ASSESSED AT 50 KNOTS WHICH IS SLIGHTLY LOWER THAN CONGRUENT DVORAK 
CURRENT INTENSITY ESTIMATES OF 55 KNOTS FROM PGTW AND FMEE. TC 15S 
IS FORECAST TO TRACK SOUTHEASTWARD ALONG THE SOUTHERN PERIPHERY OF 
THE SUBTROPICAL RIDGE AND CONTINUE TO ENCOUNTER STRONG (40 TO 60 
KNOTS) VERTICAL WIND SHEAR (VWS) AND COOL SSTS (24 TO 25C), WHICH 
WILL FURTHER WEAKEN THE SYSTEM. TC 15S WILL CONTINUE ETT THROUGH TAU 
12 AND COMPLETE ETT BY TAU 24. THE DYNAMIC MODEL GUIDANCE IS IN GOOD 
AGREEMENT WITH THIS SCENARIO, THEREFORE, THERE IS HIGH CONFIDENCE IN 
THE JTWC FORECAST TRACK. DUE TO THE STRONG VWS AND COOLER SST, THERE 
IS A POSSIBILITY THAT THE SYSTEM WILL WEAKEN BELOW 35 KNOTS PRIOR TO 
COMPLETING ETT. MAXIMUM SIGNIFICANT WAVE HEIGHT AT 150000Z IS 18 
FEET.
 
- JTWC + Eumetsat 

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