Invest 95W now a tropical depression

By Pacific Island Times News Staff

(Updated at 5 p.m.)

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center has upgraded Invest 95W to Tropical Depression 09W (TD 09W), with max sustained winds of 30 mph.

It was moving west at 12 mph and was located near 8.9N 162.9E, about 245 miles north of Kosrae and about 1265 miles east-southeast of Guam. 

The Guam Homeland Security Office advised Guam and CNMI residents to monitor the latest forecast and communications from NWS Guam and local emergency management and prepare for possible impacts.

"The level of impacts and potential intensity is still under analysis as this system evolves over the next four days," the GHS office said.

Heavy rainfall and gusty winds are occurring in the far northwestern Marshall Islands near Enewetak. Gusty winds and periods of locally heavy showers are still possible for Pohnpei & Kosrae as the center of TD 09W passes to the north, and heavy rain bands continue to move around the system. Surging west winds south of TD 09W continue across Kosrae, Pohnpei and Chuuk State.

On Saipan, the CNMI Joint Information Center, in coordination with the CNMI Homeland Security and Emergency Management Office and the National Weather Service Guam, advised residents of Saipan, Tinian and Rota to begin preparing now for possible impacts from Tropical Depression 09W.

The current forecast shows Tropical Depression 09W was about 1,265 miles east-southeast of Guam, moving west at 12 mph, and forecast to turn west-northwest toward the Mariana Islands, with a possible passage through the region late Sunday, July 5, into Monday, July 6. The system is strengthening and could become a tropical storm within 24 to 36 hours. 

While current impacts and potential intensity remain under analysis as the system continues to evolve, residents are encouraged to take the following steps now:

• Secure or bring inside loose outdoor items such as trash cans, patio furniture, tools, toys, signs and tarps.

• Check and protect windows, doors and roofs as much as possible before weather conditions worsen.

• Charge phones, power banks, flashlights, and make sure spare batteries are available.

• Fill vehicles and approved fuel containers with fuel.

• Stock water, nonperishable food and medications needed for several days.

• Place important documents, identification, cash and critical paperwork in a waterproof bag or container.

• Review family emergency plans, including where household members will shelter, how they will communicate and what they will do if power or water service is interrupted.

• If living in a weak structure or low-lying area, think ahead now about where to go if conditions worsen.

• Check on elderly relatives, neighbors and others who may need assistance.

Earlier this morning, numerical forecast models indicated a passage of a tropical cyclone over the Marianas, likely spanning from south of Guam northward through Pagan Island, on July 5 and 6, according to the National Weather Service Guam.

The NWS advised residents to watch this system closely and plan for some degree of impacts Sunday and Monday.

"It’s not yet clear where exactly 95W will pass through the region, or at

what intensity, but we have four-plus days and a lot of distance for things to shift, develop and evolve," the weather service said.

The Guam Homeland Security said no tropical cyclone watches or warnings are in effect for now.

As of 7 a.m. today, Invest 95W continued its gradual development over eastern Micronesia, now with a broad cyclonic flow extending well north and south of the low-level circulation center, extending southward to the equator, NWS said.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center upgraded the potential for development into a tropical depression from "medium" to "high," reflecting the likelihood of 95W becoming a tropical depression within the next 24 hours.

At 11 pm ChST on Tuesday night, the JTWC in their Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert stated that 95W was located near 9N 164.6E, about 399 nm east-northeast of Pohnpei. It had been moving northwestward at around 5 knots. It remains in an environment favorable for continued development. It will continue moving generally northwestward.

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