ZCZC MIATCDEP5 ALL TTAA00 KNHC DDHHMM HURRICANE DARBY DISCUSSION NUMBER 9 NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL 2 AM PDT SAT JUL 25 1998 A WELL-DEFINED EYE AND DISTINCT BANDING REMAIN EVIDENT ON SATELLITE PICTURES. THE PERIOD OF RAPID INTENSIFICATION APPEARS TO HAVE ENDED AS DVORAK INTENSITY ESTIMATES MAY HAVE REACHED A PLATEAU AT 5.5... ABOUT 100 KT. DARBY IS NOW MOVING SLIGHTLY FASTER TOWARD THE WEST- NORTHWEST...ABOUT 11 KT. THE 00Z AVN FORECASTS A DISCONTINUOUS RETROGRESSION OF THE STRONG ANTICYCLONE CENTER FROM TEXAS TO SOUTHERN NEVADA DURING THE NEXT 72 HOURS. THIS SHOULD MEAN LITTLE CHANGE IN DARBY/S TRACK...UNLESS THE CYCLONE OUTRUNS THE HIGH AND IS AFFECTED BY THE INCREASING SOUTHERLIES FORECAST ALONG 125W NORTH OF 20N...BETWEEN THE HIGH AND THE NEIGHBORING LOW ALOFT. THE TRACK FORECAST REPRESENTS AN EXTENSION OF THE PREVIOUS NHC PREDICTION. WEAKENING SHOULD COMMENCE WITHIN 24-36 HOURS. RAPPAPORT FORECAST POSITIONS AND MAX WINDS INITIAL 25/0900Z 15.5N 119.8W 105 KTS 12HR VT 25/1800Z 16.2N 121.5W 105 KTS 24HR VT 26/0600Z 17.0N 123.6W 105 KTS 36HR VT 26/1800Z 17.7N 125.8W 95 KTS 48HR VT 27/0600Z 18.5N 128.2W 80 KTS 72HR VT 28/0600Z 19.5N 133.5W 60 KTS NNNN