Typhoon Hinnamnor has been upgraded to a super typhoon as it moves southwest toward Japan’s Ryukyu Islands, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday.
As of 2pm yesterday, Hinnamnor’s center was 1,390km east of Taipei, the bureau said, adding that the storm was moving southwest at about 21kph.
Maximum wind speeds reached 184kph, with the typhoon’s radius reaching 220km, it said.
The typhoon is expected to move to about 840km east of Taipei by 2pm today, the bureau said.
Bureau forecaster Liu Yu-chi (劉宇其) told a news conference in Taipei that Hinnamnor is the first super typhoon this year.
The guiding stream for the storm is expected to weaken by tomorrow or Friday, causing it to hover around the Ryukyu Islands, he said.
Photo: CNA
Another tropical system, which is about 800km away from Hinnamnor, could develop into a tropical depression, he said, adding that the interaction between the typhoon and the system could cause Hinnamnor to veer south.
However, as the tropical system would have less time to develop, it could merge with Hinnamnor, Liu said.
Whether the system would evolve into a tropical storm is unclear, he said.
“We will monitor the typhoon and see if it veers south from tomorrow to Saturday, when it is expected to significantly decelerate,” he said. “The typhoon will be about 500km away from Taiwan during this period, and it remains to be seen whether a sea alert for Hinnamnor would be issued.”
High temperatures are forecast nationwide for today and tomorrow, with a high chance of rain in central and southern Taiwan, he said.
The typhoon’s peripheral circulation will start bringing rain to northern, northeastern and eastern Taiwan tonight, Liu said.
As it is expected to be closest to Taiwan on Saturday and Sunday, chances of showers would be high nationwide, with heavy to extremely heavy rainfall forecast for northern Taiwan and coastal areas in Keelung, he said.
Rain is forecast to ease by Sunday when Hinnamnor moves away from Taiwan, he said.
The nation is expected to see one to two more typhoons in the fall, the bureau said, adding that heavy rainfall is more likely in northern and eastern Taiwan throughout the season due to interactions between typhoons and the northeast monsoon.
Overall, a warmer autumn is likely, with rain falling within the normal range, the bureau said.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
RSS