Tropical Storm Ma-on to bring extremely heavy rain to southeast Taiwan

颱風馬鞍將為台灣東南部帶來特大暴雨

Extremely heavy rain advisory issued for Taitung and Pingtung counties


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The periphery of Tropical Storm Ma-on will likely bring heavy rain to southern and southeastern Taiwan, while the rest of the country could see brief showers in the afternoon as the storm heads toward China, according to the Central Weather Bureau (CWB).

At 12 a.m., Tropical Storm Ma-on was about 470 kilometers southwest of Taiwan's southernmost tip of Eluanbi, moving northwest at a speed of 24 kilometers per hour. It had a radius of 150 km and was packing maximum sustained winds of 100 kph and gusts of up to 126 kph, the CWB reported.

As the periphery of Ma-on swirled into southern Taiwan, the CWB at 3:20 a.m. issued an extremely heavy rain advisory for Taitung County and Pingtung County. The areas covered by the advisory include the Hengchun Peninsula, Taitung County, Orchid Island, and Green Island.

The CWB advises residents in those areas to beware of localized heavy rain, sudden downpours, lightning strikes, strong wind gusts, and large waves along coastal areas. Meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said that Hualien County, Taitung County, Kaoshiung City, and Pingtung County are all likely to see rain today, while short-lived showers are also possible in the afternoon in central and northern Taiwan.

Wu said that the CWB's latest maps show that Ma-on is already in the waters to the northwest of the Philippines' Luzon Island and is heading west-northwest. It is nearing Dongsha Island and is on a path to head toward China's Guangdong Province on Thursday (Aug. 25).

On Thursday, Wu predicted that there would be brief showers in eastern and southern parts of the country. In northern and central areas of the nation, strong convection will likely bring localized showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon, causing temperatures to drop slightly.

On Friday and Saturday (Aug. 26-27), weak southwesterly winds will prevail over Taiwan, resulting in a return of hot weather. The mornings will see partly cloudy to cloudy skies, with localized showers or thunderstorms in mountainous areas and flat areas in the afternoon.

By Sunday (Aug. 28), Wu predicted that weak northeasterly winds would bring slightly cooler temperatures. Brief localized showers and thunderstorms are possible in the afternoon in mountainous areas and flat areas in central and southern Taiwan.

Wu forecasted that from Aug. 29-30, the weather would still be hot with the first half of the day seeing sunny to cloudy skies. In the afternoon, there will likely be localized showers or thunderstorms in mountainous areas and some flat areas.