The Central Weather Bureau could issue a sea alert on Sunday for Typhoon Noul, which had been upgraded from a tropical storm.
At press time, the center of the storm was 1,790km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwesterly at 20kph, with the maximum wind speed reaching 144kph. The radius of the storm reached 180km.
Bureau forecaster Yen Tseng-hsi (顏增璽) said the typhoon was forecast to move toward the island of Luzon in the Philippines and then gradually turn north toward Taiwan’s east coast.
Photo: CNA
He said the radius of the storm would only just touch Luzon, meaning that the storm could remain strong as it comes near Taiwan.
Noul is not likely to directly hit Taiwan, based on the bureau’s projected path, Yen said.
However, the edge of the typhoon could still make landfall if it makes a slow turn at a smaller angle than expected, he said, adding that the bureau is monitoring its path to see if it needs to issue a land alert.
Noul would be Taiwan’s first typhoon for the year if it enters the nation’s waters.
Many hope the typhoon would bring much-needed rain to alleviate a water shortage, but meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said it might only bring rain to the east coast.
“In the short term, Noul has the potential to turn into a stronger typhoon,” Wu said.
“As it moves toward Taiwan, its intensity might be reduced because of lower sea temperatures, a stronger wind shear and other geographical reasons,” he said.
“The rainfall would mostly fall on the east coast, which is on the windward side. The rainfall on the west coast, which has more serious water shortage problems, would be very limited,” the meteorologist said.
WeatherRisk Co weather director Chia Hsin-hsing (賈新興) said that meteorological forecasts by different countries about the typhoon’s projected path as it travels north varies.
He said that the deviation from the forecast could exceed 300km, which shows the uncertainty of such a forecast.
Chia said that the storm’s circumference could threaten the nation’s east coast, Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島), Green Island (綠島) and Orchid Island (蘭嶼, also known as Lanyu) based on current information.
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