Tropical Storm Halong unlikely to head toward Taiwan: Expert

Taipei, Oct. 5 (CNA) Tropical Storm Halong formed early Sunday, and current projections indicate it is unlikely to move directly toward Taiwan, independent meteorologist Wu Der-rong (吳德榮) said.

As of 8 a.m. Sunday, Halong was located 2,110 kilometers east of Taipei, moving west-northwest at a speed of 5 km per hour.

With a radius of 80 km, the storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 65 kph, with gusts reaching up to 90 kph, data from the Central Weather Administration (CWA) showed.

The storm is expected to move westward toward waters south of Japan before curving northeast, Wu said, noting that it poses no direct threat to Taiwan for now.

"Only a few tracks bring it closer to Taiwan, so the chance of a direct hit is low," said the adjunct associate professor in National Central University's Department of Atmospheric Sciences. "But it still requires monitoring due to uncertainty in the models."

Another storm in the region, Typhoon Matmo, was passing near China's Leizhou Peninsula on Sunday, with its storm bands affecting southeastern Chinese provinces and northern Vietnam, CWA data showed.

Meanwhile, Taiwan remains under hot weather alerts on Sunday, with Taipei, New Taipei, Taichung and Tainan possibly seeing highs of 36 degrees Celsius or above, the CWA said.

According to the national weather agency, high pressure will likely keep the weather sunny and scorching across the island until Monday, while temperatures in western Taiwan may hover between 33-36 degrees.

From Tuesday, some moisture could increase as strengthening northeasterly winds bring scattered showers to the greater Taipei area, the east coast and northern coastal areas, it said.

Wu projected that over the upcoming National Day holiday weekend, most regions will likely stay sunny and hot, with only brief afternoon rain in mountain areas and isolated showers in the east.