Taiwan set for balmy autumn with 1 to 2 typhoons: CWB

Taipei, Aug. 30 (CNA) The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) on Tuesday forecast balmy temperatures with the chance of one to two typhoons in Taiwan this autumn, following the second driest July and August on record.

At a press conference held to mark the release of the CWB's autumn forecast, the bureau warned that approaching storms may bring torrential rainfall to northern and eastern Taiwan due to the effects of seasonal northeasterly winds.

Lu Kuo-chen (呂國臣), director of the CWB's Weather Forecast Center, said that Taiwan was also expected to experience warm autumn temperatures with slightly more rainfall in the eastern parts of the country as the La Nina weather pattern continues to develop.

Taiwan saw average precipitation of 225.5 millimeters during July and August, which was less than 40 percent of the long-term average and the second driest summer on record after 2020, Lu said.

According to Lu, weather stations in Yilan, Suao, Yanmingshan, and Taitung all recorded their lowest rainfall -- 45 mm, 55.5 mm, 120 mm, and 125.5 mm, respectively.

Lu said an abnormally strong subtropical high was to blame for the situation, which also caused higher-than-usual temperatures this summer and prevented tropical storms from developing.

Only nine storms have formed so far this year in the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean, below the long-term average of 11, with no typhoon warnings issued in Taiwan, according to Lu.

This makes 2022 the year with the longest wait for a typhoon warning issued in Taiwan on record, followed by the year 2010, when the first warning was issued on Aug. 30, CWB data showed.

Update

Sept. 2: Taiwan issues sea warning for Typhoon Hinnamnor