Tropical storm forms over Philippine waters; no direct impact on Taiwan

Taipei, Nov. 25 (CNA) The Central Weather Administration (CWA) announced Tuesday that a tropical depression over the sea west of the Philippines strengthened into a tropical storm named Koto at 8 p.m., saying the system is not expected to have a direct impact on Taiwan.

The agency said in a 9:30 p.m. update that Koto, the 27th named storm of the year, is forecast to move in a west-northwesterly direction and will therefore not pose a direct threat to Taiwan.

According to the CWA, as of 8 p.m. the center of Koto was located 1,210 kilometers south of Eluanbi, Taiwan's southernmost point, moving northwest at 27 kilometers per hour. It had maximum sustained winds of 64.8 kph near the center and a radius of 100 km.