(2) AN AREA OF CONVECTION (INVEST 93W) HAS PERSISTED NEAR 15.1N 145.2E, APPROXIMATELY 30 NM WEST OF SAIPAN. ANIMATED ENHANCED INFRARED SATELLITE IMAGERY DEPICTS FLARING DEEP CONVECTION ASSOCIATED WITH A BROAD LOW-LEVEL CIRCULATION CENTER (LLCC). ANIMATED RADAR IMAGERY FROM THE GUAM RADAR SHOWS CURVED RAIN BANDS WRAPPING AROUND A DEVELOPING LLCC. A 171733Z NOAA-19 89GHZ IMAGE INDICATES FORMATIVE, FRAGMENTED BANDING OVER THE SOUTHERN SEMI- CIRCLE WITH WEAKLY-DEFINED SHALLOW BANDING ELSEWHERE. SURFACE OBSERVATIONS FROM TINIAN SHOW PERSISTENT SOUTHWESTERLY SUSTAINED WINDS OF 15 TO 20 KNOTS. UPPER-LEVEL ANALYSIS REVEALS A MARGINALLY- FAVORABLE ENVIRONMENT WITH MODERATE TO STRONG VERTICAL WIND SHEAR (VWS), ASSOCIATED WITH TS 25W'S OUTFLOW, OFFSET BY GOOD DIFFLUENCE ALOFT AND WARM SST. GLOBAL MODELS INDICATE AN EASTWARD TRACK ACROSS THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS WITH GRADUAL DEVELOPMENT OVER THE NEXT 36 TO 48 HOURS AS VWS RELAXES. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED SURFACE WINDS ARE ESTIMATED AT 15 TO 20 KNOTS. MINIMUM SEA LEVEL PRESSURE IS ESTIMATED TO BE NEAR 1005 MB. THE POTENTIAL FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SIGNIFICANT TROPICAL CYCLONE WITHIN THE NEXT 24 HOURS IS MEDIUM.