CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Forecasters at Kadena Air Base on Monday were keeping a close watch on a new tropical depression that spawned overnight Sunday well to the south of Okinawa.

Master Sgt. Brian McDonald of Kadena’s 18th Wing weather flight said forecasters don’t know if the storm will threaten Okinawa.

“It’s too early in the game,” he said. “We’ll keep an eye on it.”

Tropical Depression 19W was 828 miles south-southeast of Okinawa, tracking west-northwest at 5 mph at noon Monday, with sustained winds of 35 mph and 46 mph gusts at its center.

If it remains on its Joint Typhoon Warning Center forecast track, 19W should come only as close as 404 miles southeast of Okinawa at midnight Thursday, packing sustained winds of 75 mph and 92 mph gusts, qualifying it as a typhoon.

If it becomes a named storm, it will be dubbed Bebinca, a Macanese word for milk pudding.

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