Meteorologists are closely monitoring a tropical disturbance off the east coast of the Philippines that could become the first tropical storm or typhoon in the northwest Pacific Ocean this year.
“In terms of climate average, at least one tropical storm or typhoon in the northwest Pacific Ocean should occur between January and March. However, we have seen none so far, which is a bit late,” said Daniel Wu (吳德榮), a former Central Weather Bureau (CWB) Weather Forecast Center director who is now an adjunct associate professor of atmospheric sciences at National Central University.
WeatherRisk Explore Inc chief executive officer Peng Chi-ming (彭啟明) wrote on Facebook that weather forecast simulations showed that a low-pressure system would develop off the southeast coast of the Philippines in the next few days.
“There are tropical cloud clusters developing south of Guam, and the environment is favorable for the development of tropical systems. However, there remain differences in forecasts simulated from different models,” Peng wrote. “It is normal for a tropical system to develop in April. However, we need to wait until the characteristics of a tropical system become more apparent and simulation models generate more reliable forecasts. People do not need to panic too much at this point.”
On average, one tropical storm or typhoon appears this month, he said.
“However, unlike in summer, we are still under the influence of the northeast monsoon, and the Pacific high-pressure system has yet to be in place. As such, a tropical system has limited room to develop further and a low chance of turning into a typhoon and affecting Taiwan,” he said.
Chances of rain would be high from today to Saturday with the arrival of a rain front and the rise of the northeast monsoon, weather forecasts from the Central Weather Bureau showed.
Today, temporary showers are forecast in the north and northeast, while isolated showers are forecast in central, east and southeast Taiwan, as well as mountainous areas in the south, the forecast showed.
Cloudy skies are forecast in the southern plains, the bureau said.
Tomorrow, temperatures are to drop significantly nationwide, with the mercury dipping to 20°C to 22°C in the north and east regions, 22°C to 25°C in Hualien and Taitung counties, and 26°C to 28°C in central and southern regions, the bureau said.
The donation of offshore patrol vessel Kinmen to the Philippines includes provisions that protect Taiwanese fishers and facilitate security cooperation across the First Island Chain, officials said yesterday. The comment was made during the Cabinet’s comprehensive administrative report at the legislature after Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsu Yu-chen (許宇甄) expressed concerns about the decision to give a ship to a country whose coast guard had in 2013 fired on a Taiwanese trawler and killed its captain without provocation. The Cabinet should lay out the safeguards that have been established to prevent the Philippine government from using the Kinmen to harass, expel
‘FRIENDSHIP FLEET’: A CGA official is scheduled to meet with the president of the Pacific nation, while one of the ships is to host a banquet and National Day event Two Coast Guard Administration (CGA) patrol vessels have docked at Malakal Harbor in Palau as part of an expedition exercise and diplomatic visit, during which a senior official is expected to meet with Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr, the agency said yesterday. The two vessels, the 4,000-tonne-class Chiayi and the 1,000-tonne-class Penghu, set sail for Palau from Taiwan last week and arrived on Tuesday at Malakal Harbor, the CGA’s Fleet Branch said in a statement. The journey marks the second time the CGA has dispatched a “friendship fleet” to another country, after it sent its first-ever goodwill fleet, comprising the Hualien and
A patrol vessel donated by the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) to the Philippines was commissioned into the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Friday, a Philippine non-governmental organization said. The CGA on Sept. 16 confirmed media reports that Taiwan had donated a retired 500-tonne patrol vessel to the Philippines. The Manila-based We Protect Our Seas (WPS) foundation, which served as an intermediary in the transfer, said that the vessel was formerly the CGA’s 500-tonne petrol vessel Kinmen (CG123). The WPS, in a statement issued on Friday, said the vessel, renamed as the BRP Sarangani, had been commissioned into the PCG the
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) today said that two of its patrol vessels have docked at Palau's Malakal Harbor as part of an expedition exercise and diplomatic visit, during which a senior official is expected to meet with the Palauan president. The two vessels, the 4,000-tonne-class Chiayi (嘉義) and the 1,000-tonne-class Penghu (澎湖), set sail for Palau from Taiwan last week and arrived at Malakal Harbor yesterday, the CGA's Fleet Branch said in a statement. The journey marked the second time the CGA has dispatched a "Friendship Fleet" to another country, after it sent its first-ever goodwill fleet, comprising the Hualien (花蓮)
RSS