In an El Nino year, the nursery for tropical cyclones moves further east.
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A balloon festival in southeastern Taiwan’s Taitung county was canceled Monday and ferry services between the county and two islands off its coast were due to be suspended as Tropical Storm Linfa approached Taiwan.
On July 8 at 1500 UTC (11 a.m. EDT), the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) estimated Nangka’s maximum sustained winds near 115 knots (132.3 mph/213 kph).
The KMA said Chan-hom, which was 80 km north of Guam, has the potential of becoming “very strong”, measuring 380 km in radius and packing winds of 49 m/s.
Forecasters said it would travel precariously close to the coast of China, possibly reaching Shanghai.
Meanwhile, a tropical depression has formed to the east of Hawaii, which could strengthen into a tropical storm as it passes to the north of the islands over the weekend. It will bring heavy rain or torrential rain in Fujian, Guangdong and Taiwan.
If Linfa takes a western turn, its threat to Hong Kong will become greater.
The effect refers to the tendency of two nearby storms to orbit each other, spiral into a point between them and eventually merge, meteorologist Wu Teh-jung (吳德榮) said.
Typhoon Nangka is not the largest in size or the closest to land, but it’s definitely the strongest tropical cyclone in the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday morning. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center is forecasting Nangka to peak at Category 5 strength and 160 miles per hour winds on Wednesday. With warmer waters and calmer weather conditions in front of it, intensity of the storm will more than likely grow.
The powerful storm could then head towards Japan early next week although forecasts and uncertain at this stage.
Furthest west is Linfa, locally known as Egay, which has been interacting with the hilly north of Luzon for 24 hours.
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Residents walk along the breakwater as high waves brought by typhoon Linfa crash along Manila Bay at a slum area in Baseco, Tondo in Manila.
