Super Typhoon Saola has weakened to a typhoon, and the eye is expected to miss Taiwan, as it travels through the Bashi Channel, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said yesterday.
Saola, which was downgraded at 2am yesterday, was 700km south-southeast of Taiwan as of 8am yesterday, the bureau said.
It was moving north-northwest at 9kph to 12kph, with sustained winds of 173kph and gusts of up to 209kph, it said.
Photo courtesy of the Central Weather Bureau
Saola is forecast to brush past Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southern tip, tomorrow and on Thursday, bureau forecaster Lin Ping-yu (林秉煜) said.
Meanwhile, another storm has formed in the Pacific and is expected to move toward the Japanese island of Okinawa, Lin said.
Tropical Storm Haikui and Typhoon Saola might create the Fujiwhara effect, he said, referring to a phenomenon that can occur when two storms are within 1,000km of each other, affecting their strength and movement.
Saola and Haikui are about 1,600km apart, and are both moving in a westerly direction, Lin said, adding that any interaction between them would depend on whether Haikui strengthens.
There is a large low-pressure area stretching from the South China Sea to the Philippine Sea, where Saola and Haikui are situated, and there are several other tropical disturbances that could interact with one another, he added.
Saola’s storm circle is relatively small, with a radius of about 150km to 180km, and while the eye is not expected to hit Taiwan, the storm would bring strong winds and heavy rain to Taiwan, Lin said.
The bureau was likely to issue a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm and a land warning this afternoon, he said.
Saola was forecast to move north yesterday before shifting northwest today, when it is expected to dump heavy rain on eastern Taiwan, Lin said.
Tomorrow, Saola is expected to approach southern Taiwan, and mountainous areas in the east and south of the country should be on alert for heavy rain, he said.
On Thursday, the typhoon would continue to drench the eastern half of the country, while also bringing rain to low-lying areas to central and southern Taiwan, Lin said.
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