Sea warning for typhoon possible by Friday: CWA - Taipei Times

Taiwan could issue a sea warning for Typhoon Dolphin as early as Friday afternoon if the storm maintains its current westward track, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday.As of 2pm yesterday, the center of the typhoon was about 2,590km east of Taipei and moving west at 21kph, potentially bringing hazardous conditions to waters surrounding Taiwan by Saturday.Dolphin is expected to reach waters south of the Ryukyu Islands around Saturday, but its track beyond that remains highly uncertain, CWA forecaster Lin Ping-yu (林秉煜) said.

The projected path of Typhoon Dolphin is pictured yesterday.

The typhoon could either continue moving westward or veer northward, Lin said. A westward track would bring greater impacts to Taiwan from its outer circulation, while an earlier northward turn would have less effects.Although ocean temperatures along Dolphin’s westward path is relatively low, they remain sufficient to sustain the storm’s current intensity, so it is unlikely to weaken rapidly, he said.

Dolphin is expected to remain a moderate typhoon or tropical storm while retaining a relatively large circumference, he added.A Friday afternoon sea warning — indicating that hazardous typhoon conditions are expected in waters surrounding Taiwan within 24 hours — cannot be ruled out if the storm continues west, Lin said.If Dolphin turns north, a sea warning might still be issued if it changes direction too late and if the storm does not shrink significantly, he added.From today through Thursday, northeasterly winds are expected to bring isolated showers to northeastern Taiwan and mountainous areas around Greater Taipei, with localized heavy rain possible in mountain regions tomorrow and on Thursday afternoon.As the typhoon approaches, winds are expected to shift to northerly or northwesterly from Friday through Sunday, with foehn winds possible in Yilan on Thursday, and in Hualien and Taitung on Friday and Saturday.Rainfall is expected to become more widespread in northern Taiwan and mountainous areas in the south over the weekend, Lin said.