MEDIUM
(1) THE AREA OF CONVECTION (INVEST 96W) PREVIOUSLY LOCATED
NEAR 8.9N 138.2E IS NOW LOCATED NEAR 9.6N 135.6E, APPROXIMATELY 150
NM NORTH-NORTHEAST OF PALAU, FSM. ANIMATED MULTISPECTRAL SATELLITE
IMAGERY DEPICTS PERSISTENT DEEP CONVECTION OVER A BROAD,
CONSOLIDATING LOW LEVEL CIRCULATION (LLC). A 171959Z SSMIS 91GHZ
IMAGE DEPICTS MARGINAL CONVECTIVE BANDING. 96W IS CURRENTLY IN A
FAVORABLE ENVIRONMENT FOR DEVELOPMENT WITH GOOD WESTWARD UPPER LEVEL
OUTFLOW, LOW (<15 KTS) VERTICAL WIND SHEAR, AND WARM (30 TO 31
CELSIUS) SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURES. GLOBAL MODELS ARE IN GOOD
AGREEMENT THAT INVEST 96W WILL CONSOLIDATE AND STRENGTHEN AS IT
TRACKS NORTHWESTWARD. 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 UPGRADED TO MEDIUM.