The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) announced the formation of the 15th tropical storm of the year yesterday morning.
The bureau predicted that Tropical Storm Xangsane is unlikely to hit Taiwan directly at this point. The storm's outer edges, however, will start bringing heavy rain nationwide on Friday and could last over the weekend.
Daniel Wu (
"It is not going to be a peaceful October this year," Wu added.
As of 4:30pm yesterday, the center of the storm was located 740km southeast of Manila. The storm was moving northwest, with the speed accelerating from 6kph to 9kph.
Partly cloudy skies will continue until tomorrow nationwide, as well as in Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu. Seasonal winds from the northeast will bring the temperature down in northern and northeastern regions.
Meanwhile, the bureau's marine meteorology center said yesterday that a marine data buoy has now been installed around 200km east of Lanyu, enabling it to collect marine meteorological data and monitor the passage of storms east of Taitung.
The buoy was assembled by a research team in Taiwan. It has a diameter of about 2.5m, and is equipped with a variety of scientific instruments, including a global positioning system, a wind speed and direction indicator, thermometers, barometers, a radio transmitter, a nighttime warning light, solar panels that power the device, and a host of other gadgets.
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