Tropical Storm Krathon expected to strengthen into a typhoon before reaching Taiwan Monday
A tropical depression east of the Philippines intensified into a tropical storm this morning, September 28, and is expected to reach typhoon status, and affect Taiwan’s weather from Monday through Thursday.
According to Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration (CWA), the tropical depression TD22 intensified into this year’s 18th named tropical storm, Krathon, at 8:00 am this morning.
Krathon was located at 18.5 north, 125.4 east, moving south-southwest at 11 kilometers per hour. Krathon has a central air pressure of 998 hPa, and is packing sustained winds of 18 meters per second with maximum gusts of 25 meters per second. The CWA forecasts the storm to intensify towards a medium strength typhoon over the next 36 hours.
Weather analyst Liao Yu-ting of the WeatherRisk Company said that the forecast path for Krathon has tended to be revised westward, bringing it closer to Taiwan. The storm circle is likely to completely cover the entire island of Taiwan from Tuesday to Wednesday next week.
Liao said that the sea temperature near Taiwan is warmer, and therefore the storm is expected to intensify quickly into a moderate typhoon with a radius expanded to 250 kilometers.
A maritime warning could be issued as early as tomorrow, Sunday, with a land warning soon to follow.
As for today’s weather, under the influence of northeasterly monsoon winds and a low pressure belt, the weather in the north and north east is expected to be unstable, with brief showers and possible thunderstorms. Weather in central Taiwan is expected to be mostly sunny, with afternoon thunderstorms in mountain areas south of Chiayi. The CWA has issued heavy rain warnings for mountain areas of New Taipei City, urging people to beware of sudden heavy downpours, landslides, falling rocks, and surging streams.
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