Tropical Storm Noul expected to intensify, bring heavy rain: CWA

Taipei, July 24 (CNA) Tropical Storm Noul will continue to intensify as it moves over waters south of Taiwan, bringing heavy to extremely heavy rain to eastern Taiwan and the Hengchun Peninsula starting Friday night, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast.

As of 2 p.m. Friday, Noul was centered about 330 kilometers south-southeast of Cape Eluanbi, Taiwan's southernmost point, and it was moving west-northwest at 27 kilometers per hour, with maximum sustained winds of 83 kph and a radius of 100 km, CWA data showed.

CWA forecaster Lin Ping-yu (林秉煜) said Noul's storm circle was gradually entering the Bashi Channel, posing a threat to the Bashi Channel, waters around Dongsha Island, and the southern Taiwan Strait.

Lin said warm sea surface temperatures and favorable environmental conditions were expected to allow the storm to continue strengthening and its storm circle to gradually expand.

The likelihood of rain will increase across eastern Taiwan on Friday under the influence of easterly to northeasterly winds, with heavier rainfall possible from southern Hualien to the Hengchun Peninsula and Orchid Island, Lin said.

From Friday night into early Saturday, as Noul moves westward off southern Taiwan, Hualien, Taitung and the Hengchun Peninsula could see heavy to extremely heavy rain, while southern Taiwan may experience localized heavy rain, he said.

Although the storm is expected to move farther away later Saturday, the weather is likely to remain unstable in eastern and southern Taiwan through early Sunday, Lin said.

The CWA said the sea warning could be lifted around midday or later Saturday, depending on the storm's intensity and track.