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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》Bureau might issue sea alert on Friday as storm approaches
By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter
The Central Weather Bureau （CWB） yesterday said it might issue a sea alert on Friday as Tropical Storm Chanthu is forecast to affect the nation this weekend.
Two tropical storms have formed in the northwest Pacific Ocean, bureau data showed.
Tropical Storm Chanthu, which formed yesterday morning, was centered 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi （鵝鑾鼻） in southern Taiwan as of 2pm.
It was moving west at 11kph, with its radius expanding to 100km, the bureau said, adding that the maximum sustained wind speed near the center reached 83kph.
Tropical Storm Conson, which formed on Monday, was centered 1,100km southeast of Oluanpi. It was moving northwest at 13kph, with its radius reaching 100km, bureau data showed.
Conson’s maximum sustained wind speed reached 72kph, it said.
Wu Wan-hua （伍婉華）, a senior technical specialist at the bureau’s Weather Forecast Center, said the two tropical storms were close to the southern edge of a Pacific high-pressure system.
Conson is forecast to move toward the South China Sea and China’s Hainan Province after sweeping across the Philippines in the next two days.
Meanwhile, Chanthu could affect the weather in Taiwan over the weekend, bringing rain to the nation’s east and north coasts, as well as southern Taiwan, Wu said.
“Our projected path for Chanthu could change after Friday, as various factors could influence the way it moves toward Taiwan, which in turn would help us better gauge the effect that it would have on the nation,” she said, adding that the bureau would closely monitor the storm’s movements in the next three days.
Weather forecaster Chao Hung （趙竑） said that a sea alert for Chanthu might be issued as early as Friday.
Whether the storm would make a landfall in southern Taiwan, turn north or veer to the south requires further observations, Chao said.
Sunny skies with afternoon thundershowers are forecast for most of the nation from today until Friday due to the Pacific high-pressure system, the bureau said.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
