Danas weakens to tropical storm as eye leaves Taiwan early Monday

Taipei, July 7 (CNA) Danas weakened from a typhoon to a tropical storm after making landfall in Chiayi County late Sunday night, and its eye exited Taiwan early Monday morning near the border of Taoyuan and Hsinchu, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA).

Speaking with reporters, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said Danas was downgraded to a tropical storm at around 5 a.m. as its outer band began to shrink.

As of 9 a.m., Danas was 70 kilometers north-northwest of Taipei, moving northwest at 10-16 kph, with maximum sustained winds of 90 kph and gusts up to 119 kph, according to the CWA.

Wu said Danas is expected to continue weakening, but its broad radius will still affect Taiwan. A land warning issued Saturday night remains in effect for Keelung, Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Hsinchu and Miaoli counties in the north, and Yilan County in the east.

She added that a sea warning issued Saturday morning remains in effect for waters off northern and northeastern Taiwan and north of the Taiwan Strait.

Wu said the land warning will likely be lifted on Monday afternoon, while the sea warning could be removed by late evening at the earliest.

However, Wu said the storm continues to bring moisture to Taiwan, with rain persisting in mountainous areas of the central and southern regions.

Mountainous parts of Kaohsiung and Pingtung may see localized extremely heavy or even torrential rain, while Miaoli and areas to its south could receive heavy to extremely heavy rain. Localized heavy rain is also expected Monday in Hsinchu, northern Taiwan, eastern Taiwan, and the outlying Penghu islands.

As of 8:30 a.m., Pingtung's Majia Township had recorded 288 millimeters of rain, while Kaohsiung's Sinsing District reported 214.5 millimeters, according to the CWA.

Wu said the storm's outer bands could cause hot, dry winds in Taitung, pushing daytime temperatures above 36 degrees Celsius on Monday.

Wu said that after leaving Taiwan, Danas is expected to move westward and make landfall in China.