maybe the nhc is dog-tired of tracking storms and felt like giving the backup boys a whirl. hpc did the 21z discussion.... and i'm thinking they erred just a little high.
the storm's symmetry and convection has deteriorated to a point not seen since its inception in late november... it's obviously starting to come apart now (finally). if it was my job (which it never will be) to tag an intensity i would have gone with 60kt... just under the 65kt it's been getting for the last 24hr or so with a much better signature. i mean... the forecaster admitted that the t-numbers were concentrated just below 4.0... and yeah i know this goes against the logic i have that t-numbers underrate hybrid systems... but that is more of a problem when they're in formative phases, not so much when they're winding down. the semicircle of the storm northwest of the eye is peeling off, the eye structure has elongated and essentially closed. from here the surface center will start trailing the convective burst which should keep stuck on the southeastern side... probably dragging the core of the storm on an eastward-bending path as shown in the official.

later on... probably late tomorrow or early friday... the center ought to decouple and slow to a crawl as shown in the official. when things start going bad for a late season hurricane they can fold up pretty quickly.... this one ought to be done some time friday, i'm thinking. remnant low should still be apparent through about early sunday. i don't buy the gfdl baroclinic-regeneration scenario.... think we're done in about 48.

now, as for the next cut-off low shown out there early next week.. no real change there either. it's persisting in the models that like it, but there isn't a uniform picture of its existence or longevity yet. i'm not biting yet.

HF 2147z07december (PH 64)