More stormy weather heading for Taiwan by Steph Ball
The Pacific Typhoon season is well under way and over the last week Taiwan has been pounded by two tropical storms, with another forecast to be heading their way this week.
Tropical Storm Sepat developed on Saturday just to the west of the Northern Marianna Islands. On Monday morning it was upgraded to a severe tropical storm and is currently lying around 600nm south-southeast of Naha, Okinawa. Its winds are said to be registering around 60mph (100km/h) with gusts 80mph (130km/h). Sepat is forecast to intensify rapidly and become a typhoon over the next few days, with a track taking it towards Taiwan for the weekend.
Sepat follows on from Tropical Storm Wutip which made landfall on Thursday 9th of August. Wutip itself came hot on the tail of Typhoon Pabuk which crossed Taiwan only days earlier. Pabuk was downgraded to a tropical storm before making landfall. It lashed southern Taiwan, with heavy rains and strong winds, temporarily cutting power to more than 50,000 homes and causing flooding.
The Taiwanese will certainly be keeping an eye on Sepat over the coming few days. The current forecast from the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre (JTWC), has it making landfall overnight on Friday, as a typhoon still.
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