Land warning for Tropical Storm Kong-Rey possible on Wednesday: CWA

Taipei, Oct. 28 (CNA) Taiwan could issue a land warning for Tropical Storm Kong-Rey as early as Wednesday morning, amid a growing possibility that the storm will approach Taiwan or even make landfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said on Monday.

As of Monday morning, Kong-Rey was located 1,050 kilometers southeast of Cape Eluanbi, Taiwan's southernmost tip, and was moving west at 13 kilometers per hour (kph).

The storm is currently packing maximum sustained winds of 101 kph, with gusts of up to 126 kph, though it is forecast to strengthen into a typhoon (characterized by sustained wind speeds of more than 117 kph) as it nears Taiwan, the CWA said.

Due to lingering high pressure in the Pacific, Kong-Rey is expected to move in a northwesterly direction that could put it on track to make landfall in Taiwan or pass it to the north or south, the CWA said.

With the storm moving closer to Taiwan than previously forecast, the CWA said it could issue a sea warning for Tropical Storm Kong-Rey on Tuesday afternoon or evening, followed by a potential land warning on Wednesday morning.

The last typhoon to make landfall in Taiwan in November was Typhoon Gilda in 1967, though other typhoons have previously formed in this month over the years and impacted Taiwan's weather, the CWA said.

Current CWA forecasts show that Kong-Rey will affect Taiwan most severely from Thursday through Saturday, when the storm will bring strong winds and rain to much of the country, including possible heavy or extremely heavy rain in the north, east and southeast.

As of press time, the CWA's website showed there was an 80 percent chance that Orchid Island, located off Taiwan's southeast coast, would be within Kong-Rey's outer rim on Thursday night.

Meanwhile, due to a strengthening northeasterly wind system, the CWA issued a heavy rain advisory lasting through Monday night for Taipei City, the coast near Keelung City, and mountainous areas in New Taipei City and Yilan County.

Rainfall totals in those areas could exceed 80 millimeters (mm) over a 24-hour period or 40 mm in a three-hour period, according to the advisory.