TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Tropical Storm Fengshen is likely to form Sunday and bring periods of heavy rain to northern and northeastern Taiwan through early next week, the Central Weather Administration said.
A tropical depression formed at 2 a.m. Friday east of the Philippines and is forecast to move west toward the central Philippines, per ETtoday. CWA forecaster Hsieh Pei-yun (謝佩芸) said it could strengthen into a tropical storm on Sunday, track northwest across Luzon, and enter the South China Sea on Monday.
While the system should remain south of Taiwan, its outer bands, together with a strengthening northeast monsoon arriving Saturday, will funnel moisture into northern Taiwan and Yilan.
Hsieh said the main question is how much the storm’s rain bands interact with the incoming monsoon. If they overlap, rain could intensify in the north, Yilan, and northern Hualien.
The chance of a typhoon warning is low because the system is expected to stay far from Taiwan. A warning would be considered only if it moved north through the Bashi Channel, but current forecasts point to a Luzon crossing.
Friday and Saturday will be mostly stable, with brief afternoon thunderstorms in the mountains and short showers in northeastern areas and along Keelung’s north coast. Rain will increase Saturday night as the monsoon strengthens, especially in northern Taiwan and Yilan.
On Sunday, rainfall will become more frequent north of Taoyuan and in Yilan, with scattered showers in eastern Taiwan, the Hengchun Peninsula, and the south. Central Taiwan will see rain mainly in mountainous areas.
The heaviest rain is expected Monday and Tuesday, with localized heavy to torrential rain possible in the north, Yilan, and northern Hualien. The east will see brief showers, and other regions may have scattered rain as moisture spreads.
Conditions should ease from Wednesday as the system moves deeper into the South China Sea and its outer circulation weakens. Rainfall will lessen in northern Taiwan but may continue along parts of the east coast. Further changes will depend on the storm’s development.
