Update: Tropical Storm Krathon was upgraded to a typhoon by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday morning, just hours after a sea warning was issued
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The CWA issued a sea warning for severe Tropical Storm Krathon at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday (Sept 29).
The CWA issued the sea warning as the storm was 510 kilometers southeast of Eluanbi and traveling northwest at 10 km per hour. The storm has winds of 120 km per hour and a storm radius of 50 km, per CNA.
Meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said Krathon is rapidly approaching with a projected path up the east coast, though wind and rainfall threaten all of Taiwan. Krathon is the 18th tropical storm of the year and continues to intensify in the sea northeast of Luzon Island.
Wu said the path of the storm is still uncertain. He did not rule out the possibility of landfall in Taiwan, per UDN.
Wu said that factors such as high ocean heat content (OHC) and relatively little vertical wind shear are conducive to the rapid intensification of the tropical storm. European storm forecasting (ECMWF) shows the likelihood of the storm strengthening to a typhoon.
Based on the path forecasted by the CWA, Wu said wind and rain will gradually increase on Monday (Sept. 30), becoming the most severe from Tuesday to Wednesday (Oct. 1-2). It will gradually lessen on Thursday (Oct. 3).
Wu said Krathon will threaten Taitung, Hualien, and Yilan, which could experience torrential rain and strong winds. Pingtung and Greater Taipei should also watch for rain accumulation.
