Tropical Storm Wipha Brings Wind and Rain to South China

Tropical Storm Wipha brought wind and rain to south China on Wednesday.  At 11:00 p.m. EDT on Wednesday the center of Tropical Storm Wipha was located at latitude 20.5°N and longitude 110.6°E which put it about 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Leizhou, China.  Wipha was moving toward the west-northwest at 8 m.p.h. (13 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 45 m.p.h. (75 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 60 m.p.h. (95 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 990 mb.

The circulation around Tropical Storm Wipha contained a large rainband in the southern half of the tropical storm and another large rainband in the northern half of the circulation.  The rainband in the southern half of Wipha brought wind and rain to Hainan Island.  The rainband in the northern part of the tropical storm brought wind and rain to south China including Hong Kong.  Persistent heavy rain was creating the potential for flash floods in parts of southern China.

Tropical Storm Wipha was moving around the southwestern part of a subtropical ridge over the Western North Pacific Ocean.  The ridge will steer Wipha toward the west-northwest during the next 24 to 36 hours.  On its anticipated track Tropical Storm Wipha will move close to the coast of south China and northeastern Vietnam.  Wipha will continue to bring gusty winds and drop locally heavy rain over those regions on Thursday.