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Tropical Storm FRANKLIN (Text)

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TROPICAL STORM FRANKLIN DISCUSSION NUMBER  11
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
11 PM EDT SAT JUL 23 2005
 
LATEST MICROWAVE IMAGE SHOWS THAT THE LOW- AND MID-LEVEL CENTERS OF
FRANKLIN ARE BECOMING DETACHED. THERE IS A RING OF DEEP CONVECTION
...RESEMBLING AN EYEWALL...MARKING A WELL DEFINED MIDDLE LEVEL
CIRCULATION. HOWEVER...THE CLOUD LINES SHOW A SURFACE CENTER
DISPLACED TO THE NORTHEAST. THIS CENTER LOCATION IS CONSISTENT WITH
THE LATEST RECON FIX. THIS DECOUPLING HAS BEEN THE SCENARIO
FORECAST BY GLOBAL MODELS...MAINLY BY THE GFS... DURING THE PAST
DAY OR SO.
 
THE CLOUD PATTERN ON SATELLITE HAS NOT IMPROVED AND IN FACT...IT
LOOKS LESS ORGANIZED THAN EARLIER TODAY...AND THE MINIMUM PRESSURE
IS ABOUT 1003 MB. INITIAL INTENSITY IS ADJUSTED TO 55 KNOTS. THE
MID-LATITUDE TROUGH APPROACHING FRANKLIN IS BRINGING STRONG
SHEAR...SO ADDITIONAL STRENGTHENING IS NO LONGER INDICATED IN THE
OFFICIAL FORECAST.  ONLY THE NOGAPS MODEL SHOWS THAT THE
UPPER-TROUGH WILL BYPASS FRANKLIN QUICKLY...LEAVING WEAKER SHEAR
AND A MORE FAVORABLE ENVIRONMENT.
 
FRANKLIN IS EMBEDDED WITHIN THE WESTERLIES AND IS MOVING TOWARD THE
EAST-NORTHEAST ABOUT 10 KNOTS. FRANKLIN COULD ACCELERATE A LITTLE
DURING THE NEXT 12 TO 24 HOURS AS THE STEERING FLOW INCREASES AHEAD
OF THE TROUGH. THEREAFTER...THE STEERING CURRENTS ARE FORECAST TO
WEAKEN AND FRANKLIN IS EXPECTED TO DECREASE IN FORWARD SPEED. AT
LONGER RANGES...ANOTHER SHORT WAVE WILL APPROACH FRANKLIN AND THE
CYCLONE SHOULD THEN INCREASE ITS FORWARD SPEED AGAIN. ALL THESE
SMALL CHANGES ARE EXPECTED TO OCCUR AS THE CYCLONE MOVES AWAY FROM
THE UNITED STATES.
 
FORECASTER AVILA
 
FORECAST POSITIONS AND MAX WINDS
 
INITIAL      24/0300Z 30.3N  72.9W    55 KT
 12HR VT     24/1200Z 30.9N  71.3W    55 KT
 24HR VT     25/0000Z 31.5N  69.5W    55 KT
 36HR VT     25/1200Z 32.0N  68.0W    55 KT
 48HR VT     26/0000Z 32.5N  67.0W    50 KT
 72HR VT     27/0000Z 33.5N  64.0W    45 KT
 96HR VT     28/0000Z 35.0N  61.0W    40 KT
120HR VT     29/0000Z 38.5N  56.0W    30 KT
 
 
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