Well that escalated quickly. Surrounded by near -90C cloud tops, #Rai is clearing out a pinhole eye & the latest JTWC forecast now takes the system to Cat 5 intensity.
Unfortunately happening at the worst time possible with impact in the #Philippines in ~12 h. pic.twitter.com/K6pPrFstJB
— Philippe Papin (@pppapin) December 15, 2021
Super Typhoon #Rai exhibits a warm pinhole eye surrounded by a CDG ring. In pretty elite territory. ADT raw # is over 7.0 now. Though an ERC is imminent based on M-PERC it might not happen before landfall. Mixed result as wind field remains more compact but CAT 5 intensity 🙁 pic.twitter.com/ciPUzD1mFC
— Derrick Herndon (@DerrickHerndon2) December 15, 2021
h/t Doorbert Returns