Sea warning for Tropical Storm Krathon likely Sunday: CWA

Taipei, Sept. 28 (CNA) Taiwan is expected to issue a sea warning for Tropical Storm Krathon Sunday morning, as the storm approaches with rapidly intensifying rain and strong winds, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said Saturday.

As of 2 p.m. Saturday, Krathon was located about 620 kilometers northeast of Manila, moving in a west-northwest direction at 6-11 kilometers per hour, according to CWA data.

With a radius of 80 km, the storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 72 kph, with gusts of up to 101 kph, the data showed.

Krathon has been churning over the ocean southeast of Taiwan for the past 24 hours, gaining strength rapidly, and it is expected to develop into a typhoon on Sunday, forecasters said.

A sea warning is likely be issued for Taiwan Sunday morning, and a land warning by Sunday or early Monday, the CWA said.

The storm is forecast to move northwest at a much faster pace, starting Monday, bringing heavy rains and wind gusts to eastern Taiwan, the Greater Taipei area, and the Hengchun Peninsula on the southern tip of the country, according to the CWA said.

In the western half of the island, the wind and rain be lighter on Monday, the CWA forecast.

As Krathon moves closer to Taiwan, however, the eye is forecast to brush the east coast Tuesday and Wednesday, bringing strong winds and heavy rain to most of the country, the weather agency said.

By Thursday, Krathon will start moving away, but its outer bands will continue to dump rain on northern, northeastern, and central Taiwan, according to forecasters.

After the storm leaves, meanwhile, daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan are likely to drop by 3-5 degrees Celsius to 28 degrees, as seasonal winds from the northeast intensify, the CWA said.