Wutip has become the first typhoon to be upgraded to a stronger typhoon in the month of February since 1911, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said yesterday.
The nation’s typhoon season generally lasts from July to September, the bureau said.
Although tropical storms and typhoons have previously formed in winter, they have rarely been upgraded to stronger typhoons, it said.
Photo courtesy of a Shei-Pa National Park volunteer
Wutip was upgraded at 8pm on Saturday, bureau data showed. Its center was 2,440km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) as of 2pm yesterday. It was moving northwest at 7kph, with a radius of 227km and maximum wind speeds of 184kph.
Wutip is expected to weaken to a tropical depression by Friday, the bureau said, adding that it would not affect Taiwan directly.
However, people in coastal areas along eastern Taiwan and the Hengchun Peninsula should beware of rogue waves from today until Wednesday, the bureau said.
Although a cold air mass that hovered over the nation over the weekend is expected to begin weakening today, the nation would remain under the influence of a northeast monsoon until tomorrow, the bureau said.
Daytime lows in northern Taiwan today and tomorrow are forecast to be between 14°C and 16°C, while the rest of the nation could see lows of 18°C to 20°C, the bureau said.
Occasional rain is expected in northern and eastern Taiwan today due to clouds from Southern China, the bureau said, adding that isolated rain is expected in mountainous areas in central and southern areas.
Cloudy skies with occasional rain are forecast for the rest of the nation, it said.
The bureau forecast cloudy to sunny skies for most parts of the nation tomorrow, except eastern Taiwan and mountainous areas in northern areas, which would see isolated rain.
The bureau forecast daytime highs of 20°C to 25°C in northern Taiwan, 27°C to 30°C in central and southern Taiwan, and 23°C to 26°C in Hualien and Taitung.
As for 228 Memorial Day on Thursday, the bureau said that the northeast monsoon would again affect the nation, lowering highs to about 20°C and bringing occasional rain to northern and northeastern Taiwan.
The bureau forecast cloudy to sunny skies for the rest of the nation.
However, the bureau said that the northeast monsoon is expected to weaken by Friday morning and daily highs are expected reach 24°C to 26°C in the north, 26°C to 28°C in Hualien and Taitung, and 29°C to 32°C in central and southern Taiwan.
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
The eastern extension of the Taipei MRT Red Line could begin operations as early as late June, the Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems said yesterday. Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said it is considering offering one month of free rides on the new section to mark its opening. Construction progress on the 1.4km extension, which is to run from the current terminal Xiangshan Station to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, was 90.6 percent complete by the end of last month, the department said in a report to the Taipei City Council's Transportation Committee. While construction began in October 2016 with an
NON-RED SUPPLY: Boosting the nation’s drone industry is becoming increasingly urgent as China’s UAV dominance could become an issue in a crisis, an analyst said Taiwan’s drone exports to Europe grew 41.7-fold from 2024 to last year, with demand from Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression the most likely driver of growth, a study showed. The Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET) in a statement on Wednesday said it found that many of Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) sales were from Poland and the Czech Republic. These countries likely transferred the drones to Ukraine to aid it in its fight against the Russian invasion that started in 2022, it said. Despite the gains, Taiwan is not the dominant drone exporter to these markets, ranking second and fourth
The New Taipei City Art Museum this weekend plans to celebrate its first anniversary with a two-day extravaganza featuring live concerts and a large-scale synchronized fireworks and drone display, the New Taipei City Cultural Affairs Department said. The two-day celebrations are to take place in the museum’s outdoor park, with markets and live performances by singers including Ann Bai (白安), Bii (畢書盡) and the Cosmos People (宇宙人), the department said. The highlight on both evenings would be the "Echoes of Light" show, an aerial spectacle combining fireworks and drone performances designed around the concept of "dual stages in the sky," it
RSS