The Central Weather Bureau confirmed that Tropical Storm Kong-rey formed yesterday afternoon, adding that it could issue a sea alert for the newly formed storm tomorrow afternoon.
According to the bureau, the storm formed at 2pm yesterday over the Philippines. Its name, Kong-rey, is a popular name for girls in Cambodia.
Kong-rey comes soon after Tropical Storm Trami, which brought torrential rainfall to the nation last week.
Photo: Wang Ying-chieh, Taipei Times
As of press time, the center of the storm was located 820km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at a speed of 13kph. The maximum wind speed near the center was 164.8kph. The radius of the storm reached 100km.
The bureau forecast that the center of the storm would move to 500km southeast of Taitung by 2pm today, adding that vessels operating in the sea area east of the Philippines or in the Bashi Channel should beware of the storm’s movements.
“The weather will start changing on Wednesday [tomorrow], when the storm and its circumfluence will increase the chances for showers or thundershowers nationwide,” forecaster Lin Chi-hui (林智暉) said.
“Because the storm will pass through the sea area off the East Coast, we may issue a sea alert either on Wednesday afternoon or evening, or early on Thursday morning. We could issue a land alert as well,” he added.
The storm is to affect the weather nationwide from tomorrow to Friday, the bureau said.
While the storm would not come close to Taiwan until tomorrow, the bureau warned that travelers to the coastal areas could see large waves and rough seas today as the storm approaches.
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