(1) AN AREA OF CONVECTION (INVEST 98W) HAS PERSISTED NEAR 7.8N 136.6E, APPROXIMATELY 121 NM EAST-NORTHEAST OF PALAU. ANIMATED MULTISPECTRAL SATELLITE IMAGERY DEPICTS AN ASSESSED LOW-LEVEL CIRCULATION (LLC) WITH DEEP FLARING CONVECTION ALONG THE WESTERN AND SOUTHERN PERIPHERIES ASSOCIATED WITH STRONG CONVERGENT WESTERLIES. A 160222Z GMI 37GHZ MICROWAVE IMAGE REVEALS FORMATIVE BANDING ALONG THE SOUTHERN SEMI-CIRCLE OF THE LLC. PTRO OBSERVATIONS REVEAL 15-16 KT SUSTAINED WINDS, 1006 MB SEA LEVEL PRESSURE, AND A 24 HOUR PRESSURE FALL OF 1.7 MB. ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS REVEALS GENERALLY FAVORABLE CONDITIONS CHARACTERIZED BY EASTERLY DIFFLUENT FLOW AND STRONG EQUATORWARD OUTFLOW ALOFT, OFFSET BY MODERATE TO HIGH (20-25KT) VERTICAL WIND SHEAR. SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE ARE CONDUCIVE AT A WARM 29-30C. GLOBAL MODELS ARE IN STRONG AGREEMENT THAT INVEST 98W WILL REMAIN QUASI-STATIONARY AS IT STEADILY DEVELOPS OVER THE NEXT 48 HOURS. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED SURFACE WINDS ARE ESTIMATED AT 15 TO 20 KNOTS. MINIMUM SEA LEVEL PRESSURE IS ESTIMATED TO BE NEAR 1005 MB. THE POTENTIAL FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SIGNIFICANT TROPICAL CYCLONE WITHIN THE NEXT 24 HOURS IS MEDIUM.