A tropical depression is expected to develop into a tropical storm this morning and could start affecting the weather in Taiwan next week, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said yesterday.
The tropical depression is off the east coast of the Philippines and was moving northwesterly at a slow pace, the bureau said. It had the potential to become a tropical storm either late last night or early this morning.
Bureau forecaster Wu Yi-fan (吳依帆) said that the storm would be named Sarika — a songbird — once it forms.
Wu said the latest data showed that the soon-to-form storm is to sweep across the Philippines’ Luzon Island and is unlikely to head toward Taiwan, but the bureau requires further observations to project its path.
Wu said that rain in the northern and northeastern regions in the past two days was mainly caused by the combined influence of the northeast wind and southeast wind, with precipitation forecast to ease by yesterday afternoon.
The northeast wind and the circumfluence of the new storm could combine and affect the nation, Wu said, adding that there are several conditions to be met for the scenario to arise.
“We have yet to detect any signal that the high-pressure system is going south while the storm is heading toward Luzon,” Wu said.
“Once the typhoon enters the South China Sea, there is a chance that the high-pressure system could move south and subsequently bring in the northeast wind that is the key to generating the combined effect,” Wu said.
“Whether the combined effect could arise depends on the location of the system and when the northeast wind begins,” the forecaster said.
The northeast wind and the rain has brought low temperatures of between 23oC and 24oC, Wu said.
The nation could be affected by the northeast monsoon, causing temperatures to fall to 19oC or below, Wu said.
The northeast wind and the circumfluence of the storm could affect the nation’s weather on Monday and Tuesday, the bureau said.
People on the east coast should be alert to possible damage from “heavy” to “extremely heavy” rainfall, it said. Showers are forecast for northern and southern regions.
The storm is forecast to move away from Taiwan on Wednesday, although chances of regional showers would remain high in the north and the east, the bureau said.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book
RSS