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.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to