Weather to become cooler, wetter in Taiwan tonight, Tropical Storm Man-Yi strengthens

今晚台灣天氣變得涼爽潮濕，熱帶性低氣壓萬宜易強化

Northeasterly winds to bring cooler, wetter weather to Taiwan tonight while Tropical Storm Man-Yi grows in the Pacific


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- Balmy weather today will give way to colder, wetter conditions as a northeastern monsoon arrives this evening, while a tropical depression over the Philippines and a tropical storm in the Pacific take shape.

The Central Wether Bureau (CWB) predicts that the skies over western Taiwan will range from partly cloudy to sunny today and temperatures are expected to rise to 29 to 30 degrees Celsius. However, at night a northeastern monsoon will arrive and increase the probability of rainfall and cooler temperatures in northern and northeastern Taiwan.

The CWB pointed out that, as the northeastern monsoon arrives and starts to gain strengthen, local scattered showers are likely in northern and eastern Taiwan, while sporadic showers are also possible in the mountainous areas of central and southern Taiwan. In addition, a strong wind advisory has been issued for all of Taiwan as there are wind gusts up to level 8 and 9 being reported along the coast of Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu, northern Taiwan, eastern Taiwan (including Orchid Island and Green Island), and the Hengchun Peninsula.

At 2 a.m. this morning, the CWB observed Tropical Storm Man-Yi (萬宜), the 28th tropical storm of the year, about 3,900 kilometers east-southeast of Taiwan with a radius of 100 kilometers and moving west-northwest at a speed of 38 kilometers per hour. Man-Yi is expected to form into a typhoon and is packing maximum sustained winds of 72 kilometers per hour (kph) with gusts of up to 100 kph. Meanwhile, a tropical depression that is forming over the Philippines could also form into a typhoon named Usagi (天兔), before passing through the South China Sea. However, neither storm is currently projected to affect Taiwan directly.

According to the Environmental Protection Administration, as easterly winds will dominate during the day, diffusion conditions for air pollution will be worse in western Taiwan. As the northeastern monsoon arrives this evening, scattered showers in northern and eastern Taiwan will help "wash out" some of the particulate matter in the air, thus improving air quality in those areas.

As for the current AQI report, Yilan, Hualien, Taitung and Penghu are reporting "good' air, while northern Taiwan, including Hsinchu and Miaoli, as well as Matsu and Kinmen are reporting "moderate" air quality conditions. Whereas, an orange alert for air that is "unhealthy for sensitive groups" is flashing in central Taiwan, Yunlin, Chiayi, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Pingtung.


CWB map of Tropical Storm Man-Yi's projected path.


NOAA satellite image of Tropical Storm Man-Yi.