The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said that it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Ragasa this morning and a land warning at night as it approached Taiwan.
Ragasa intensified from a tropical storm into a typhoon at 8am yesterday, the CWA said, adding that at 2pm, it was about 1,110km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip.
The typhoon was moving northwest at 13kph, with sustained winds of up to 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA Web site showed.
Photo: Central Weather Administration
Forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said that Ragasa was projected to strengthen as it neared the Bashi Channel, with its 200km radius expected to expand further.
Gusts might reach 184kph, making Ragasa potentially the strongest typhoon so far this year in the northwest Pacific, Liu said, adding that Taiwan is expected to bear the brunt from tomorrow to early Wednesday.
The storm is forecast to be closest to Taiwan tomorrow night and on Tuesday, when its wind radius could reach 280km to 300km, he said.
From tomorrow to Wednesday, residents in Hualien and Taitung counties should brace for extremely heavy rain and strong winds, Liu said.
Mountainous areas in Yilan County, and Kaohsiung and Pingtung might also see heavy rainfall, he said, adding that rain could be expected across the nation.
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
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