WDPN31 PGTW 030300 MSGID/GENADMIN/JOINT TYPHOON WRNCEN PEARL HARBOR HI// SUBJ/PROGNOSTIC REASONING FOR SUPER TYPHOON 11W (HALONG) WARNING NR 23// RMKS// 1. FOR METEOROLOGISTS. 2. 6 HOUR SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS. SUPER TYPHOON (STY) 11W (HALONG), LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 759 NM SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF KADENA AB, OKINAWA, JAPAN HAS TRACKED WESTWARD AT 07 KNOTS OVER THE PAST SIX HOURS. ANIMATED MULTISPECTRAL SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS AN INTENSE SYSTEM AS A THICK RING OF DEEP CONVECTION HAS PERSISTED AROUND A SHARPLY 28-NM EYE. THE MSI ALSO SHOWS A SLIGHT THINNING OF THE CONVECTION ALONG THE NORTHERN QUADRANT OF THE SYSTEM. A SERIES OF MICROWAVE IMAGERY INCLUDING A 022249Z SSMIS MICROWAVE IMAGERY REVEAL THE DEEP CONVECTION WITHIN THE EYEWALL HAS SLIGHTLY DEGRADED IN VARIOUS LOCATIONS, AND COULD BE THE RESULT OF AN EYEWALL REPLACEMENT CYCLE (ERC). THE CURRENT POSITION IS BASED ON THE EYE FEATURE WITH HIGH CONFIDENCE. THE INITIAL INTENSITY OF 140 KNOTS IS BASED ON CONSISTENT DVORAK CURRENT INTENSITY ESTIMATES FROM PGTW AND KNES. UPPER-LEVEL ANALYSIS INDICATES A POINT SOURCE ANTICYCLONE OVER THE SYSTEM PROVIDING EXCELLENT OUTFLOW OFFSETTING THE MODERATE NORTHEASTERLY VERTICAL WIND SHEAR (VWS). STY 11W IS CURRENTLY TRACKING WESTWARD ALONG THE SOUTHERN PERIPHERY OF THE SUBTROPICAL RIDGE (STR) TO THE NORTH. 3. FORECAST REASONING. A. NO CHANGE TO THE FORECAST PHILOSOPHY SINCE THE PREVIOUS PROGNOSTIC REASONING MESSAGE. B. STY 11W IS EXPECTED TO TRACK WEST-NORTHWESTWARD UNDER THE STEERING INFLUENCE OF THE STR OVER THE NEXT 24. BETWEEN TAU 36 AND 48, AN UPPER-LEVEL TROUGH PASSING OVER THE KOREAN PENINSULA AND WESTERN JAPAN CREATES A BREAK IN THE STR, CAUSING STY HALONG TO TURN NORTH-NORTHWESTWARD. IN ADDITION TO WARM SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURES, FAVORABLE CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO PERSIST ALLOWING STY 11W TO MAINTAIN SUPER TYPHOON STRENGTH OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS AND THEN WEAKEN SLIGHTLY AS IT TRACKS INTO INCREASING NORTHERLY VWS. C. AFTER TAU 72, STY HALONG IS FORECAST TO TRACK NORTHWARD ALONG THE WESTERN PERIPHERY OF THE STR THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE FORECAST PERIOD. DUE TO THE UNCERTAINTY IN TIMING OF THE POLEWARD TURN NEAR TAU 24 AND THE DEPICTION OF THE TROUGH AND STR IN THE EXTENDED TAUS, THERE IS OVERALL LOW CONFIDENCE IN THE JTWC FORECAST, WHICH IS POSITIONED CLOSE TO MULTI-MODEL CONSENSUS.// NNNN