TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) predicts that Typhoon Haikui will make landfall in northeast Taiwan on Sunday (Sept. 3), and the bureau is expected to issue a sea warning later on Friday (Sept. 1) and a land warning early on Saturday (Sept. 2).
As of 2 a.m. on Friday, Typhoon Haikui was 960 km east-southeast of Taipei and was moving west-northwest at 19 kph, according to the CWB. Haikui has a radius of 120 km and is packing maximum sustained winds of 108 kph with gusts of up to 136 kph.
The CWB predicts Haikui will have the strongest impact on Taiwan between Saturday afternoon and Sunday, particularly in the north and east. Starting on Saturday, waves reaching heights of over three meters are likely off the north coast of Keelung, coastal areas of eastern Taiwan (including Orchid Island and Green Island), and Lienchiang County. The CWB said Haikui's path and how much it will affect Taiwan is still uncertain.
JTWC predicts Haikui will make landfall in Hualien. (JTWC image)
Meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said on Friday CWB modeling shows Haikui is slowly strengthening. CWB forecasts show Haiku's eye will make landfall in northeast Taiwan on Sunday, before continuing on to China's Fujian Province.
Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), and European modeling show Haikui making landfall in eastern Taiwan, while U.S. modeling predicts it will affect east Taiwan before ricocheting in the Taiwan Strait and hitting the country for a second time in the northwest.
At 5:50 a.m., the CWB issued a heavy rain advisory from early Friday morning to late afternoon for the north coast of Keelung, mountainous areas of Taipei City, mountainous areas of New Taipei City, Yilan County, and Kinmen County. The rest of the country is expected to see sporadic showers that will become more intense later in the day.
From Saturday to Sunday, there will be brief, localized showers across the country, while heavy or torrential rain will be likely in northern Taiwan and mountainous areas of the northeast.
Average path of GEFS ensemble shows Haikui hitting Taiwan twice. (GEFS)
The CWB advised that during high tide on Saturday and Sunday due to the annual tidal surge, people in coastal low-lying areas from New Taipei to Tainan and the coast of Penghu should be alert to seawater intrusion and potential flooding.
As for Typhoon Saola, it has weakened to a moderate typhoon, but is predicted to continue to bring large waves and strong winds. On Friday morning, it was 410 km west of Eluanbi moving west-northwest and was packing maximum sustained winds of 172 kph with gusts of 208 kph.
Meanwhile, Severe Tropical Storm Kirogi is over 3,000 km east of Taipei and moving northwest. 
Satellite image of Western Pacific. (NOAA GIF)
