The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) yesterday issued a sea warning for Typhoon Noul after the weather system became more powerful as it neared the east coast.
As of 5:30pm yesterday, the center of the typhoon was 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northeastward at 20kph, with the radius of the storm expanded to 200km. A satellite image taken by the bureau showed that the typhoon has developed a very clear eye.
Bureau forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said the sea alert applies to vessels operating off the northeast coast and those near the Bashi Channel (巴士海峽) off the southeast coast.
Photo: CNA
Wu said the structure of the typhoon weakened as it was sweeping through the Philippines, adding that the typhoon had begun to turn north and moving along the edge of a Pacific high-pressure system. She said the typhoon would weaken gradually because the surrounding atmospheric conditions would hamper its development.
The bureau forecast that the typhoon would move east after initially entering waters off the southeast coast. The bureau said the typhoon’s threat to Taiwan would become much smaller if the storm heads east, adding that it could lift the sea alert either tonight or tomorrow morning.
Wu said the bureau detected large waves approaching the east coast, the Hengchun Peninsula and the southwest coast yesterday, which would continue until today, adding that residents in those areas should protect themselves against strong gusts of wind.
Between 5am and 5pm today, intermittent rainfall is forecast in southern and eastern Taiwan. The chances of afternoon showers are also high in northern and southern Taiwan.
Wu said that the intensity of the rainfall on the east coast would be determined by the angle at which the typhoon turns north.
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Dolphin, which formed on Saturday, was 4,430km southeast of Oluanpi. It was moving northwest at 8kph.
Former CWB weather forecast center director Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said that the storm has the potential to become a typhoon because it is moving slowly.
Although still far away from Taiwan, Wu said the storm has already prevented Pacific high pressure fronts from moving south, adding that the high pressure would mainly affect central China.
“The typhoons formed this month are not going to help solve the water shortage problem, with the majority of rain falling on the east coast,” he said, adding that Dolphin is not likely to “swim” anywhere near Taiwan.
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