By KHT Staff
TAITUNG — Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration placed Taitung County (台東縣) under an extremely heavy rain advisory Monday morning as a low-pressure zone increased the risk of intense short-duration rainfall.
The advisory, issued at 6:55 a.m. Monday, Aug. 31, said Taitung could receive localized heavy or extremely heavy rain. Kaohsiung City (高雄市), Pingtung County (屏東縣), and Hualien County (花蓮縣) remained under heavy rain advisories.
The agency issued a severe thunderstorm alert for Taitung at 7:18 a.m. The alert was scheduled to remain in effect until 8:18 a.m.
The warning covered Taitung City (台東市), Beinan Township (卑南鄉), Taimali Township (太麻里鄉), Dawu Township (大武鄉), Jinfeng Township (金峰鄉) and Daren Township (達仁鄉).
Residents were advised to watch for rapidly rising streams, landslides, rockfalls and pooling water in low-lying areas. The storms could also bring strong gusts, lightning and reduced visibility.
The weather agency defines extremely heavy rain as rainfall reaching at least 200 millimeters within 24 hours or 100 millimeters within three hours. Such advisories indicate the possibility of those conditions and do not mean the thresholds have already been reached across the entire warning area.
A low-pressure system moving across the South China Sea is likely to make Monday and Tuesday the wettest days of the week in Taiwan, with the south, central Taiwan and Taitung at risk of very heavy rain.
Central Weather Administration forecaster Wang Pin-hsiang (王品翔) said the system may become a tropical depression as it nears Taiwan. Whether it strengthens further into a tropical storm is still unclear.
Taiwan will remain under a broad low-pressure zone through the week, keeping conditions unsettled. Southern Taiwan could see heavy or extremely heavy rain early in the week, while central Taiwan and Taitung may experience intense downpours over short periods. Other areas can expect afternoon thunderstorms.
The weather is expected to improve gradually from Wednesday, although southern Taiwan and mountain areas may still see localized heavy rain. Temperatures are forecast to reach 33 to 34 degrees Celsius, with hot, humid conditions between showers.
The CWA is also monitoring another system east of the Philippines that could develop into a tropical storm as it moves toward the Ryukyu Islands.
Map: View Taitung City and the surrounding area on Google Maps.
