CWA issues sea warning for Typhoon Dolphin

Taipei, Aug. 7 (CNA) The Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued a sea warning for Typhoon Dolphin at 2:30 p.m. Friday as the storm continued moving westward through waters north of Taiwan.

As of 2 a.m. Friday, Dolphin was centered about 680 kilometers east-northeast of Taipei and was moving west at 11 kilometers per hour, with maximum sustained winds of 144 kph, according to the CWA.

Based on Dolphin's current projected path, a land warning will be issued for outlying Matsu Islands as early as Saturday evening, CWA senior weather specialist Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said.

She said long swells were expected through Monday along the north coast of Keelung, eastern Taiwan, Green Island, Lanyu, also known as Orchid Island, and the Hengchun Peninsula.

Central and northern coastal areas and Penghu are also expected to experience long swells over the weekend, Wu said.

The agency urged people to exercise caution near the coast and avoid water activities because of hazardous sea conditions.

Wu said Dolphin's outer bands were expected to bring intermittent rain Friday to western and northeastern Taiwan, as well as the offshore Kinmen and Matsu islands, although the storm's effects over land may initially be limited.

As the typhoon makes its closest approach over the weekend, heavy to extremely heavy rain is forecast in mountainous areas of central and northern Taiwan, with areas north of Taichung facing the greatest risk, she said.

Earlier Friday, independent meteorologist Wu Der-rong (吳德榮) said Dolphin was forecast to enter the southern East China Sea on Saturday before making landfall in China's Zhejiang Province early Monday.

As the typhoon moves farther away from Taiwan next week, southwesterly winds are expected to bring localized showers or thunderstorms and possible heavy rain to southwestern Taiwan, Wu said.

Other areas are forecast to remain hot and mostly sunny, although afternoon thunderstorms are possible in parts of northern and central Taiwan, he added.

The southwesterly winds are expected to weaken from Thursday, but abundant moisture will continue to bring localized morning rain to southwestern Taiwan and possible afternoon thunderstorms to western parts of the country, Wu said.