TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The latest predictions for Tropical Storm Kong-rey saw its path shifting closer to Taiwan, reports said Saturday (Oct. 26).

The storm formed in the Western Pacific Friday (Oct. 25), with meteorologists divided over the course it would follow. The main theories saw the storm either continue west over the Philippines, or turn north earlier in the direction of Japan.

However, the latest trends saw the storm change course much later, bringing it closer to Taiwan’s east coast, the Liberty Times reported. The Weather Express Facebook page predicted Kong-rey would arrive east of Luzon on October 29, followed by a change of direction.

The forecast put the tropical storm closest to Taiwan on October 31 and just south of the Japanese island of Miyako about 400 kilometers east of Taiwan. Earlier predictions downplayed the likelihood of typhoon weather in Taiwan, but if the new path was accurate, the intensity of its impact could be significant, according to Weather Express.

The tropical storm was also likely to strengthen into a typhoon by the time it reached the part of the Pacific just east of Taiwan. The linking up between the storm and the northeasterly monsoons was likely to cause severe rainfall over the next week in Yilan and in north Taiwan, according to weather experts.