The National Weather Service said Thursday morning that Invest 91W nor Tropical Depression 20W do not pose a direct threat to the Marianas, Republic of Marshall Islands, or the Federated States of Micronesia.
Both weather systems are expected to lift north into the open water of the North Pacific, north of Wake Island according to NWS Warning Coordination Meteorologist Marcus Landon Aydlett.
Tropical Depression 20W is located 375 miles west-southwest of Wake Island and 1,130 miles east-northeast of Guam as of 7 a.m. Thursday.
“It was nearly stationary, moving east at around one mile per hour with maximum sustained winds of 35 miles per hour,” he said. “20W sits in a marginally favorable environment, but its future development hinges closely on its interaction with Invest 91W, which sits just to its east-northeast.”
Tropical Depression 20W could develop into a tropical storm, with a lifespan extending into the weekend as it tracks northward, though its “delicate existence” could end quickly if it gets absorbed into Invest 91W, Aydlett reported
Meanwhile, Invest 91W is expected to become a tropical depression within 24 hours.
It was located 80 miles northeast of Wake Island, according to NWS Thursday Morning.
Aydlett said Invest 91W sits within a favorable environment for development as it tracks northward.
“Numerical forecast models indicate further consolidation and intensification today and tonight,” he wrote.
Both systems maintain a monsoon pattern across the region with periods of showers, thunderstorms, and gusty winds passing by the islands from time to time.
The heaviest of showers and thunderstorms are currently found across Yap and Palau, as well as in the vicinity of the Marianas, Aydlett said.
