040300Z POSITION NEAR 9.4S 159.2E. TROPICAL CYCLONE 25P (RAQUEL), LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 44 NM NORTHWEST OF HONIARA, SOLOMON ISLANDS, HAS TRACKED WEST- SOUTHWESTWARD AT 08 KNOTS OVER THE PAST SIX HOURS. ANIMATED MULTISPECTRAL SATELLITE IMAGERY DEPICTS AN ILL-DEFINED LOW LEVEL CIRCULATION CENTER WITH FLARING CONVECTION DRAGGING THROUGH THE SOLOMON ISLANDS. RECENT MICROWAVE IMAGES INDICATE BROAD TURNING ACROSS A LARGE AREA WHICH HAS BEGUN STRETCHING TO THE SOUTHEAST. THE 032244Z ASCAT PASSES HIT BOTH THE EASTERN AND WESTERN EDGES OF THE SYSTEM AND ONLY INDICATE 20-25 KNOT WINDS. DVORAK ESTIMATES FROM PGTW AND KNES HAVE ALSO DROPPED BELOW THE WARNING THRESHOLD OF 35 KNOTS. UPPER LEVEL ANALYSIS INDICATES STRONG (20-30 KNOTS) VERTICAL WIND SHEAR AND A STRONG POLEWARD OUTFLOW CHANNEL. THIS IS THE FINAL WARNING ON THIS SYSTEM BY THE JOINT TYPHOON WRNCEN PEARL HARBOR HI. THE SYSTEM WILL BE CLOSELY MONITORED FOR SIGNS OF REGENERATION. MAXIMUM SIGNIFICANT WAVE HEIGHT AT 040000Z IS 12 FEET.
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