Tropical Storm Maria could soon form into typhoon which could threaten Taiwan by Tuesday
Taiwan News
Date: 2018/07/05
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
CWB map of Tropical Storm Maria’s predicted path.
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Tropical Storm Maria, the eighth tropical storm of the year, formed last night and though the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) initially forecasted that it would not have a direct impact on Taiwan, if a high pressure system strengthens, the storm could change its course and lash northern Taiwan early next week.
The CWB says that the Maria is currently about 2,750 kilometers east-southeast of Eluanbi, the southern tip of Taiwan, and is moving 14 kilometers on a northwesterly trajectory towards Okinawa. At present, it does not appear that it is headed toward Taiwan, and if high pressure over the Pacific remains weak, the storm will likely continue its path toward Japan.
However, if high pressure over the Pacific strengthens, the storm could turn to a more southernly course and lash northern Taiwan, but it is too early to make an accurate prediction at this stage.
According to weather risk analysis companies on Facebook, Maria is expected to follow the edge of a Pacific high pressure ridge over the next five days on a northwesterly trajectory, before changing to a west-northwesterly path toward the Ryukyu Islands of Japan. The United States Global Forecast System (GFS) predicts that the Pacific high pressure system will be weak and therefore it expects the storm to move in a north-northwesterly direction toward the southern Japanese Island of Kyushu. [FULL STORY]