CWA announces official launch of localized strong wind advisories

Taipei, Nov. 28 (CNA) Taiwan's Central Weather Administration (CWA) said Friday that a localized "Strong Wind Advisory" function on its website will officially go online in December.

The agency said that after months of testing, the service, which people can use to check on the specific wind conditions in a city district, county township, or smaller city, will go online in December.

The new function, which began testing in March 2025, will provide users of the CWA website with district and township-specific wind information for the following 48 hours in three color codes, said Lo Ya-yin (羅雅尹), deputy director of the CWA's Weather Forecast Center.

Starting officially in December, a yellow signal will warn that the wind in a specific location could measure between 6 and 8 on the Beaufort scale over the next two days, with wind speeds reaching 39 kilometers per hour and gusts starting at 62 kph.

An orange signal will caution that average wind conditions could fall within a 9-11 range on the Beaufort scale over the next two days, with wind speeds reaching 75 kph and gusts starting at 103 kph.

A red signal, the most severe classification that would normally be used ahead of typhoons, will show that a specific region could see winds in a 12-14 range on the Beaufort scale within the next two days, with average wind speeds reaching 118 kph and gusts starting at 149 kph.

Taiwan needed a district- and township-specific wind advisory, the CWA said, because of Taiwan's unique geography and weather conditions.

A general advisory cannot accurately reflect the wind conditions of a city or county, as inland conditions can be drastically different from those in coastal areas, it said.

Visitors to the CWA website will first be able to see general wind conditions on a map of Taiwan, with different color alerts assigned to specific districts and townships.

To get detailed information on districts and townships, and smaller cities, users then have to click on a county or city, and a new page will provide wind advisory details for locations in those areas, according to the CWA.

Users of the CWA mobile app and followers on Facebook can also check on the weather conditions of certain regions as well, the agency said.