Taiwan Today

As medium-strength Typhoon Lupit continues to gain in intensity, and its path is predicted to follow that of Typhoon Parma, residents of the Yilan area should guard against torrential rains. The Central Weather Bureau said beginning Oct. 20 Lupit’s peripheral cloud system will affect Taiwan at the same time that northeasterly monsoon winds come down from the north. The interaction of the cold monsoon winds with the warm typhoon could bring very heavy rains to the north and northeast, just as Parma did. CWB forecaster Wang Yao-hua said Lupit’s progress was slowed Oct. 18 by a front to the north. As the front moves away Oct. 19 the typhoon will pick up speed. Rain is forecast starting Oct. 20 in the north and east. Lupit’s position Oct. 18 was 1,400 kilometers east-southeast of Eluanbi, Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west. The CWB said from Oct. 20 the storm’s periphery would bring rain to the northeast and mountainous areas of the north. The eastern part of Taiwan will experience rain Oct. 21. From Oct. 22 to 24 rain will fall throughout the island, and temperatures will drop. Lows of 20 to 21 degrees Celsius are predicted for the north. Wang said Typhoon Parma’s path was unpredictable due to the Fujiwara effect, the interaction of two typhoons causing them to rotate around a common center. Lupit’s route and the factors affecting it are less complex. It could pass over the northern section of Luzon Island in the Philippines or through the Bashi Channel. Rain in the north and east of Taiwan will increase daily. Whether southern Taiwan will come into the storm’s area or a sea warning is issued will only be clear after Oct. 20. (THN)