TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) issued a sea warning for Typhoon Mawar (瑪娃) at 8:30 p.m. on Monday (May 29).

As of that time, the typhoon was 540 km southeast of Eluanbi, moving north-northwest at a speed of 8 kph. It had a 300 km radius and was packing maximum sustained winds of 154 kph and gusts of up to 190 kph, the CWB reported.

The CWB forecast that Typhoon Mawar would come closest to Taiwan between Wednesday evening (May 31) and Thursday morning (June 1). The CWB advised the public to beware of heavy rain or torrential rain in mountainous areas of northern Taiwan and northeast Taiwan.

Bureau forecaster Huang En-hong (黃恩鴻) predicted that Mawar will gradually turn northward on Tuesday (May 30) and accelerate northward starting on Wednesday. Huang forecast that the typhoon would head toward Japan and gradually weaken along the way.

Starting on Friday (June 2), Huang forecast that Taiwan would still be affected by the periphery of Mawar, bringing brief showers to the north and northeast, while heavy rain is likely in mountainous areas of northern Taiwan.

Huang said that on Saturday and Sunday (June 3-4), localized showers are possible in northern and eastern Taiwan, while other areas will see partly cloudy to sunny skies. There will also likely be localized thunderstorms in mountainous areas in the afternoon.