Tropical weather systems to bring heavy rain to southern, eastern Taiwan

Taipei, June 12 (CNA) A tropical storm and a tropical depression near Taiwan will bring unstable weather, with the south and east seeing the heaviest rain, independent meteorologist Wu Der-rong (吳德榮) said Thursday.

The Central Weather Administration said a tropical depression formed at 8 p.m. Wednesday and was located 440 kilometers southeast of Cape Eluanbi as of 2 a.m. Thursday.

Meanwhile, a tropical storm was 1,200 kilometers west-southwest of Cape Elunabi at that time.

The CWA said that the tropical storm is tracking west-northwest and is expected to move north through the South China Sea rather than directly hitting Taiwan. However, Wu said it will still bring a significant amount of precipitation.

The tropical depression will begin affecting Taiwan on Thursday, bringing unstable weather, especially to the south and east, where brief showers and thundershowers are likely, the CWA said. Taitung County could see extremely heavy rain.

Areas north of central Taiwan, meanwhile, will see cloudy skies with a chance of brief thundershowers in the afternoon and localized heavy rain, the administration added.

In addition to heavy rain, the CWA warned of localized strong winds over waters off northern and eastern Taiwan and around the Bashi Channel, with gusts reaching level 8 to 10 on the Beaufort scale.

On temperature, highs could reach 31 degrees Celsius in eastern Taiwan and 35 degrees in the west, the CWA said.

Lows across Taiwan will range between 26 and 28 degrees, the administration said.

In Taiwan's offshore counties, temperatures will range from 27 to 32 degrees in Penghu, 26 to 32 degrees in Kinmen and 26 to 28 degrees in Matsu.