Possible tropical storm could come close to Taiwan on Friday

Taipei, July 15 (CNA) A tropical depression east of the Philippines could strengthen into a tropical storm named Wipha as early as Friday, though its path remains uncertain, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said Tuesday.

The tropical depression is rapidly developing and is expected to move through the Bashi Channel towards China's southeastern provinces of Guangdong and Hainan, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) told CNA.

If the weather system moves along the forecast path, it is projected to come closest to Taiwan between Thursday evening and Friday morning, Huang said.

As there is still uncertainty regarding the system's intensity and path, whether a typhoon warning will be issued depends on further observation, he added.

The outer circulation could bring localized heavy to torrential rain to parts of Taiwan, mainly in the east, south, and the Hengchun Peninsula on Thursday to Friday, and brief showers and thunderstorms in these areas from Friday to Monday, Huang said.

On Wednesday, due to the influence of southwesterly winds, temperatures in the Greater Taipei area, as on Tuesday, could reach highs of 36 degrees Celsius, while other areas in Taiwan are expected to see highs of around 32 to 33 degrees, according to Huang.

From early morning to noon on Wednesday, there may be showers or thunderstorms south of Miaoli, with some heavy rain possible. In the afternoon, heavy rain could occur in the Greater Taipei area and mountainous regions, Huang said.

On Thursday, moisture is expected to decrease slightly, with mostly cloudy to sunny skies nationwide, while there may be brief localized thunderstorms and heavy rain in the mountainous and southern regions in the afternoon, he said.