Navy Forecasters in Yokosuka Maintain 24-Hour Typhoon Tracking

YOKOSUKA, Japan — The Naval Oceanography Antisubmarine Warfare Center provides around-the-clock typhoon tracking and forecasting to safeguard Navy vessels and shore installations across the Pacific, according to a June 3, 2026, CENTCOM release.

The center monitors every developing tropical system that could affect Seventh Fleet operations, home to approximately 60-70 warships, more than 300 aircraft, and roughly 40,000 personnel afloat at any time. It supplies tailored forecasts to individual ships, forward-deployed Marine units, and shore facilities stretching from the International Date Line to the Indian Ocean.

The center operates on a continuous 24-hour watch cycle with no scheduled interruptions. Forecasters update storm tracks, intensity projections, and wind-field radii in real time as conditions evolve, replacing the previous practice of periodic briefings with persistent surveillance that began after major typhoon disruptions to fleet readiness in prior decades.

The current posture took effect as standard operating procedure and remains in force without a termination date.

The persistent watch triggers immediate decision windows for ship repositioning, sortie avoidance, and installation hardening once a typhoon enters the 180-hour forecast cone. Commanders must adjust underway schedules, divert aircraft, and secure equipment within the updated timelines the center supplies.

The data also feeds directly into port safety protocols at Yokosuka, Sasebo, and Guam, where commercial terminals and U.S. facilities share the same forecast products. Any delay in forecast delivery would compress the reaction window for the roughly 50 annual tropical cyclones that form in the western Pacific.

This mission forms part of the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command’s broader mandate to deliver environmental intelligence to combatant commanders. The Yokosuka center’s output has supported fleet operations through multiple super-typhoon events in the last decade, including storms that previously forced extended port holds and repair cycles for damaged ships.

The CENTCOM release confirms the center continues the same uninterrupted coverage established after those events.