Typhoon Nepartak is pounding Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain.  The eye will make landfall during the next few hours near T’aitung.  At 5:00 p.m. EDT on Thursday the center of Typhoon Nepartak was located at latitude 22.7°N and longitude 121.4°E which put it about 185 miles (305 km) south of Taipei, Taiwan.  Nepartak was moving toward the west-northwest at 10 m.p.h. (16 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 150 m.p.h. (240 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 185 m.p.h. (295 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 926 mb.

Typhoon Nepartak is the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale.  The Hurricane Intensity Index (HII) for Nepartak is 31.5.  The Hurricane Size Index (HSI) is 20.5, and the Hurricane Wind Intensity Size Index (HWISI) is 52.0.  These indices mean that Typhoon Nepartak is capable of causing widespread significant damage as it crosses Taiwan.

In addition to the strong winds locally heavy rain could cause flash floods, especially in the mountains of Taiwan.

The circulation of Typhoon Nepartak is very well organized.  It has a well formed eye which is surrounded by a ring of strong thunderstorms.  Numerous rainbands are rotating around the typhoon.

The atmospheric environment is favorable for strong tropical cyclones.  The winds in the upper levels are weak and there is little vertical wind shear.  However, the mountains on Taiwan will disrupt the lower part of the circulation and Typhoon Nepartak will weaken significantly when it crosses the island.  It will take about 12 hours for the typhoon to move across Taiwan.  Nepartak could still be a typhoon when the center emerges over the Taiwan Strait on Friday.

Typhoon Nepartak is expected to also make landfall on the east coast of China between Xiamen and Fuzhou.  Although it will be much weaker, Nepartak could cause some wind damage when it reaches China.  However, heavy rain will be a greater risk because it cause significant flooding in parts of eastern China.