Tropical Storm Lekima is likely to be upgraded to a typhoon, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said yesterday, adding that its circumfluence would start bringing rain to the nation’s northern and northeastern regions tomorrow.
Rain could last all day tomorrow, the bureau said.
As of 2pm, the storm was 1,040km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and moving northwest at 5kph.
Source: Central Weather Bureau
Lekima was moving very slowly yesterday, but would gradually accelerate later this week, CWB forecaster Chen Chien-an (陳建安) said.
It would bring rain to northern and eastern Taiwan, and the Hengchun Peninsula, while cloudy to sunny skies are forecast for the rest of the nation, Chen said.
The storm is forecast to approach the nation on Thursday and Friday, he said.
The latest data showed that its center would only pass near the nation’s northeast coast, but the bureau does not rule out that it could make landfall.
People living in the northern and northeastern regions should brace for strong winds, as they are closer to the storm’s center, he said.
The storm is to move away from Taiwan on Saturday, Chen said, adding that a southwesterly wind would bring showers to the central and southern regions.
Asked about the factors that could cause the storm to move further westward, Chen said that there is a Pacific high-pressure system east of the storm.
However, a low-pressure system is also developing east of the storm, which makes it less likely that the high-pressure system would affect Lekima’s movement and prevent it from moving northward, he added.
The storm could move further west toward Taiwan if the low-pressure system continues to develop, he said.
Weatherrisk Explore chief executive officer Peng Chi-ming (彭啟明) said that whether Lekima would directly hit the nation would depend on how it develops after it moves away from the low-pressure system and comes under the influence of the Pacific high-pressure system.
The latest forecast showed that Lekima has a clear tendency to move westward, which means that chances that the storm would affect Taiwan have greatly increased, Peng said, adding that projections for the storm’s path would be more accurate when meteorologists have a clearer sense of the intensity of the Pacific high-pressure system.
For today, high temperatures are forecast for the west coast due to a downward air current caused by the combined effects of a northeasterly wind and the tropical storm, Peng said, adding there could be afternoon thundershowers.
Rain is forecast for the east coast, he said
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Francisco made landfall in Japan’s Kyushu Island last night before moving to South Korea.
People traveling to these countries should check their flight schedule before leaving for the airport, Peng said.
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