Severe Tropical Storm Atsani expected to come closest to Taiwan Friday, bringing powerful winds and heavy rain

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/11/05
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

AIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) today (Nov. 5) has issued sea and land typhoon warnings for Tropical Storm Atsani as it is expected to come closest to the country on Friday (Nov. 6), bringing powerful winds, big waves, and heavy rain.

As of 2 a.m. (Nov. 5), Tropical Storm Atsani was located 670 kilometers southeast of Taiwan's southernmost tip of Eluanbi, moving west at a speed of 25 kilometers per hour, according to the CWB. What the weather bureau describes as a "severe tropical storm" has a radius of 80 kilometers and is packing maximum sustained winds of 90 kph and gusts of up to 118 kph.

At 8:30 a.m., the CWB issued a sea typhoon warning for Atsani, the 20th tropical storm of the year. It is gradually approaching the Bashi Channel and is expected to bring winds ranging from level 8 to 9 on the Beaufort scale to eastern Taiwan, the southeast, the Hengchun Peninsula, open coastal areas in the north and central regions, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu. Large waves are also likely in the eastern part of the country, the Hengchun Peninsula, and on the north coast of Keelung.

The CWB predicts that by 8 a.m. on Friday (Nov. 6), the center of Atsani will be no further than 190 kilometers southeast of Eluanbi. The weather bureau states that as Atsani nears, precipitation will begin to pick up in the north and the eastern half of the country, particularly Taitung and the Hengchun Peninsula. Southern Taiwan could also see localized heavy rain but not likely the same amount seen elsewhere.    [FULL  STORY]