Tropical Storm Kong-Rey is set to turn into a typhoon today, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday, adding that it would be able to determine if Kong-Rey will pose a threat to the nation on Wednesday.
As of 2pm yesterday, the storm’s center was 2,010km southeast of Taiwan’s most southern tip, Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻).
It was moving northwest at 17kph with maximum wind speeds of 119kph and a radius of 150km.
Photo: Wang Han-ping, Taipei Times
The bureau said its projected path for Kong-Rey is similar to that of Super Typhoon Trami, which pummeled Japan with strong winds and torrential rain over the weekend.
There is great uncertainty regarding Kang-Rey’s movements, the bureau said, adding that it would be better able to predict on Wednesday if the storm will hit Taiwan directly.
As of yesterday, the bureau forecast that Kong-Rey would be closest to the northeast coast on Friday and has the potential to be upgraded to a super typhoon.
The storm’s circumference could start affecting the nation on Wednesday, bringing showers to the north and northeast, the bureau said.
Kong-Rey is the 25th storm or typhoon to have formed over the northwestern Pacific Ocean between January and last month, former bureau weather forecast center director Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said on his blog.
The northwestern Pacific has not seen this many storms or typhoons forming in such rapid succession since 1994, when there were 26 typhoons and storms, he said.
The Japan Meteorological Agency has forecast that Kong-Rey would only be upgraded to a typhoon in the next five days, but both the bureau and the US Navy said that it could become a super typhoon.
The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts said that the storm could turn north near the Ryukyu Islands or pass through the Bashi Channel, Wu said.
Both paths or any path between them are possible, he said, adding that it would depend on the strength of the Pacific high-pressure system.
The National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction compared the possible paths for Kong-Rey as predicted by the bureau, the US Navy, the Japan Meteorological Agency, the Korea Meteorological Administration, the China Meteorological Administration and the Hong Kong Observatory, it said.
Their projections were almost the same until Wednesday, the center said, adding that Kong-Rey should move northwest, coming close the southeast of the Ryukyu Islands.
However, differences emerged in predictions beyond Wednesday, with the US Navy forecasting that it would gradually turn north and others predicting that it would continue moving toward Miyako Island, it said.
Cloudy to sunny skies are forecast nationwide through Tuesday, with afternoon showers forecast for the mountainous areas in central and southern Taiwan, Wu said.
Isolated showers could also occur in Hualien and Taitung, Wu said.
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