Tropical storm near Japan won't affect Taiwan: CWA

Taipei, Sept. 25 (CNA) Tropical Storm Cimaron, which formed on Wednesday morning in waters off southern Japan, is forecast to move towards Japan's Kanto region and will not affect Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said Wednesday.

Cimaron was moving at a speed of seven kilometers per hour in a west-northwest direction as of 2 p.m., but is forecast to weaken in the next 24 hours due to its structure, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said.

However, it could still bring rain to the Kanto region on Friday, Huang said, reminding travelers to the area to be aware.

A tropical depression could form near the Ryukyu Islands on Friday that could further strengthen into a tropical storm, he added.

If it develops, the storm, which will be the 17th Pacific storm named Jebi, could affect Taiwan this weekend, Huang said.

It is forecast to first move south toward the Philippines, gradually strengthening over waters off the Philippines before turning north and heading up the east coast of Taiwan, according to Huang.

However, it remains to be seen if the low-pressure system will intensify into a typhoon and whether it will directly affect Taiwan, he added.