The latest storm and low pressure news on August 2nd from Hong Kong (China) HKO Meteorological Station said that the low pressure in the east of the Philippines is steadily strengthening and is likely to develop into a storm.
Meteorological agencies in China, Japan and South Korea have upgraded this system to a tropical depression, and forecast that this system will strengthen into a tropical storm within the next 24 hours.
At that time, the latest storm after Hurricane Dolphin will be named Kujira - a name contributed by Japan, taken from the constellation Cetus.
Current storm forecast models predict that Typhoon Kujira mainly operates in the eastern Philippines sea area and is unlikely to move west into the northern East Sea area.
Forecasters also noted that the potential system to strengthen into Typhoon Kujira is likely to last for a short time. As Typhoon Dolphin continues to move westward, the distance between the two systems is expected to narrow to about 1,100km on August 6, increasing the possibility of the Fujiwhara effect - the phenomenon of 2 storms close to each other orbiting a common axis.
Due to the huge magnitude difference, Typhoon Kujira is forecast to weaken and eventually be absorbed by Dolphin. Most major meteorological agencies agree that Dolphin will move to the Okinawa area (Japan) with very strong typhoon intensity on August 7, before trending towards the East China Sea.
Early morning analysis on August 2 shows that the eye of Hurricane Dolphin is expanding and becoming less asymmetrical, a sign consistent with the process of the storm gradually weakening.
At 5 am (local time), the National Meteorological Center of China determined that the typhoon's eye was located in the northwest Pacific, about 2,720km east of Naha city, Okinawa, Japan.
Dolphins are forecast to continue moving in a west-northwest direction at a speed of 20-25 km/h, the intensity of the change is insignificant and does not affect the coastal waters of China before the night of August 5.
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), Taiwan (China) Meteorological Agency CWA and the South Korean Meteorological Agency all forecast that Typhoon Dolphin will move towards the Ryukyu Islands, likely to make landfall or approach Okinawa on August 7 at very strong typhoon intensity. The maximum wind near the center at that time is forecast to reach 144-162 km/h.
According to the China Meteorological Administration (CMA), Typhoon Dolphin has completed 3 typhoon-replacement cycles. This process may help the typhoon strengthen once again before weakening slightly due to changing atmospheric conditions. However, Dolphin is forecast to maintain very strong typhoon intensity as it moves towards the southern sea of Japan.
Regarding the potential storm near the East Sea Kujira, many meteorological agencies assess it as a small and short-term storm. Weather agencies in China, Japan and South Korea only forecast the path of Kujira until around August 4, showing that the storm will only maintain tropical storm intensity for a short time before weakening under the impact of Dolphin.
Meanwhile, the Taiwan (China) Meteorological Administration extended its forecast for Typhoon Kujira until August 6, showing that Kujira's trajectory will be quite complex: initially moving north, then shifting to northwest, then changing direction to northeast from August 4 and continuing to go northeast in the following days.
All models agree that Kujira will remain in the east of the Philippines and will not enter the northern South China Sea area.
