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Typhoon Koinu Brings Wind and Rain to Taiwan

Typhoon Koinu brought wind and rain to Taiwan on Wednesday night. At 11:00 p.m. EDT on Wednesday the center of Typhoon Koinu was located at latitude 22.1°N and longitude 120.6°E which put it about 10 miles (15 km) west of Hengchun, Taiwan. Koinu was moving toward the west-northwest at 5 m.p.h. (8 km/h). The maximum sustained wind speed was 125 m.p.h. (200 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 155 m.p.h. (250 km/h). The minimum surface pressure was 945 mb.

Typhoon Koinu brought strong winds and heavy rain to southern Taiwan on Wednesday night. The eye of Koinu passed over the southern tip of Taiwan. The northern half of the eyewall moved across southern Taiwan. Typhoon Koinu was the equivalent of a major hurricane when it moved across Taiwan. Winds to typhoon force extended out 70 miles (110 km) from the center of Koinu’s circulation. Winds to tropical storm force extended out 230 miles (370 km) from the center of circulation. The Hurricane Intensity Index (HII) for Typhoon Koinu was 23.6. The Hurricane Size Index (HSI) was 21.6 and the Hurricane Wind Intensity Size Index (HWISI) was 45.2. Typhoon Koinu was stronger than Hurricane Rita was when Rita hit southwest Louisiana in 2005. Koinu was a little smaller than Rita was.

Easterly winds blowing around the northern side of Typhoon Koinu will rise up the eastern slopes of mountains in Taiwan. The enhanced rising motion will produce very heavy rainfall on those eastern slopes. The heavy rain is likely to cause flash floods in some locations.

Typhoon Koinu will move will move around the southern part of a high pressure system over eastern Asia and the Western North Pacific Ocean. The high pressure system will steer Koinu toward the west during the next 24 hours. On its anticipated track the center Typhoon Koinu will move over the South China Sea on Thursday.

The core of Typhoon Koinu was partially disrupted when the eye and northern part of the eyewall moved across southern Taiwan. The disruption of the inner core of Koinu’s circulation is likely to cause Typhoon Koinu to weaken during the next 24 hours even though Koinu will move through an environment favorable for intensification. Koinu will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperatures are near 28°C. It will move under the southern part of an upper level ridge over China. The ridge will produce easterly winds that will blow toward the top of Koinu’s circulation. Those winds will cause some little vertical wind shear, but the wind shear will not be too strong. Typhoon Koinu is likely to weaken gradually during the next 24 hours because of the disruption of its inner core.

Typhoon Koinu Approaches Taiwan

Typhoon Koinu approached Taiwan from east on Tuesday night. At 11:00 p.m. EDT on Tuesday the center of Typhoon Koinu was located at latitude 22.1°N and longitude 123.3°E which put it about 175 miles (280 km) east of Hengchun, Taiwan. Koinu was moving toward the west-northwest at 7 m.p.h. (11 km/h). The maximum sustained wind speed was 115 m.p.h. (185 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 145 m.p.h. (230 km/h). The minimum surface pressure was 953 mb.

Typhoon Koinu was the equivalent of a major hurricane as it approached Taiwan on Tuesday night. A circular eye with a diameter of 30 miles (50 km) was at the center of Koinu’s circulation. The eye was surrounded by a ring of thunderstorms and the strongest winds were occurring in that ring of storms. Bands of showers and thunderstorms were revolving around the core of Typhoon Koinu. Storms near the core generated strong upper level divergence that pumped large quantities of mass away from the typhoon.

The size of the circulation around Typhoon Koinu increased on Tuesday. Winds to typhoon force extended out 90 miles (145 km) from the center of Koinu’s circulation. Winds to tropical storm force extended out 200 miles (320 km) from the center of circulation. The Hurricane Intensity Index (HII) for Typhoon Koinu was 20.6. The Hurricane Size Index (HSI) was 29.2 and the Hurricane Wind Intensity Size Index (HWISI) was 49.8. Typhoon Koinu was similar in size and intensity to Hurricane Frances when Frances hit southeast Florida in 2004.

Typhoon Koinu will move through an environment favorable for intensification during the next 12 hours. Koinu will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperatures are near 28°C. It will move through a region where the upper level winds are weak and there will be little vertical wind shear. Typhoon Koinu is likely to intensify during the next 12 hours.

Typhoon Koinu will move around the southern part of a high pressure system over eastern Asia and the Western North Pacific Ocean. The high pressure system will steer Koinu toward the west during the next 24 hours. On its anticipated track the center Typhoon Koinu will reach the coast of southeast Taiwan in less than 24 hours. Typhoon Koinu is likely to be the equivalent of a major hurricane when it approaches Taiwan. Koinu will bring strong, gusty winds and locally heavy rain to Taiwan. Heavy rain will cause flash floods in some locations. Typhoon Koinu could also cause widespread outages of electricity.

Typhoon Koinu Rapidly Intensifies to Equivalent of a Major Hurricane

Typhoon Koinu rapidly intensified to the equivalent of a major hurricane over the Western North Pacific Ocean east-southeast of Taiwan on Sunday night. At 5:00 a.m. EDT on Monday the center of Typhoon Koinu was located at latitude 19.9°N and longitude 126.4°E which put it about 405 miles (650 km) east-southeast of Hengchun, Taiwan. Koinu was moving toward the northwest at 9 m.p.h. (15 km/h). The maximum sustained wind speed was 120 m.p.h. (195 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 150 m.p.h. (240 km/h). The minimum surface pressure was 953 mb.

Typhoon Koinu rapidly intensified to the equivalent of a major hurricane during the past 24 hours. A circular eye with a diameter of 10 miles (16 km) was at the center of Koinu’s circulation. The eye was surrounded by a ring of thunderstorms and the strongest winds were occurring in that ring of storms. Bands of showers and thunderstorms were revolving around the center of Typhoon Koinu. Storms near the center generated upper level divergence that pumped mass away from the typhoon.

The size of the circulation around Typhoon Koinu increased when Koinu rapidly intensified. Winds to typhoon force extended out 50 miles (80 km) from the center of Koinu’s circulation. Winds to tropical storm force extended out 150 miles (240 km) from the center of circulation. The Hurricane Intensity Index (HII) for Typhoon Koinu was 22.1. The Hurricane Size Index (HSI) was 17.3 and the Hurricane Wind Intensity Size Index (HWISI) was 39.4.

Typhoon Koinu will move through an environment favorable for intensification during the next 24 hours. Koinu will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperatures are near 30°C. It will move under the southern part of an upper level ridge over the Western North Pacific Ocean and eastern Asia. The upper level ridge will produce easterly winds that will blow toward the top of Koinu’s circulation. Those winds will cause some vertical wind shear, but the wind shear will not be strong enough to prevent intensification. Typhoon Koinu is likely to intensify during the next 24 hours.

Typhoon Koinu will move around the southern part of a high pressure system over eastern Asia. The high pressure system will steer Koinu toward the northwest during the next 24 hours. On its anticipated track Typhoon Koinu will move closer to Taiwan. Koinu will approach southern Taiwan in 48 hours. Typhoon Koinu is likely to be the equivalent of a major hurricane when it approaches Taiwan. Koinu will bring strong, gusty winds and locally heavy rain to Taiwan. Heavy rain will cause flash floods in some locations.

Koinu Strengthens to a Typhoon

Former Tropical Storm Koinu strengthened to a typhoon over the Western North Pacific Ocean east-southeast of Taiwan on Sunday morning. At 11:00 a.m. EDT on Sunday the center of Typhoon Koinu was located at latitude 18.6°N and longitude 128.5°E which put it about 570 miles (920 km) east-southeast of Hengchun, Taiwan. Koinu was moving toward the northwest at 7 m.p.h. (11 km/h). The maximum sustained wind speed was 85 m.p.h. (135 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 105 m.p.h. (165 km/h). The minimum surface pressure was 977 mb.

Former Tropical Storm Koinu intensified rapidly during the past 24 hours. The inner end of a rainband wrapped around the center of Typhoon Koinu. A circular eye with a diameter off 17 miles (28 km) developed at the center of Koinu’s circulation. The eye was surrounded by a ring of thunderstorms and the strongest winds were occurring in that ring of storms. Bands of showers and thunderstorms were revolving around the center of Typhoon Koinu, Storms near the center generated upper level divergence that pumped mass away to the west of the typhoon. Winds to typhoon force extended out 20 miles (30 km) from the center of Koinu’s circulation. Winds to tropical storm force extended out 85 miles (135 km) from the center of circulation.

Tropical Storm Koinu will move through an environment favorable for intensification during the next 24 hours. Koinu will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperatures are near 30°C. ‘ It will move under the southeastern part of an upper level ridge centered west of Taiwan. The ridge will produce northeasterly winds that will blow toward the top of Koinu’s circulation. Those winds will cause some vertical wind shear. The wind shear will inhibit intensification, but the shear will not be strong enough to completely stop intensification. Typhoon Koinu will intensify during the next 24 hours. Koinu could strengthen to the equivalent of a major hurricane.

Tropical Storm Koinu will move around the southern part of a high pressure system over eastern Asia. The high pressure system will steer Koinu toward the northwest during the next 24 hours. On its anticipated track Tropical Storm Koinu will move closer to Taiwan. Koinu could approach southern Taiwan in three days. Typhoon Koinu is likely to be the equivalent of a major hurricane when it approaches Taiwan.

Tropical Storm Bailu Brings Wind and Rain to Taiwan

Tropical Storm Bailu brought wind and rain to Taiwan early on Saturday.  At 5:00 a.m. EDT on Saturday the center of Tropical Storm Bailu was located at latitude 22.6°N and longitude 120.2°E which put it about 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Hengchun, Taiwan.  Bailu was moving toward the northwest at 15 m.p.h. (24 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 65 m.p.h. (105 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 80 m.p.h. (130 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 986 mb.

The broad center of Tropical Storm Bailu moved across southern Taiwan early on Saturday.  Bailu produced winds to tropical storm force over parts of Taiwan, but its greater effect was heavy rain.  Since Tropical Storm Bailu passed near the southern end of Taiwan, its counterclockwise rotation produced easterly winds over much of Taiwan.  Those winds pushed air up the mountains, which enhanced rising motion and caused heavy rain to fall over eastern Taiwan.  Estimates of rainfall from radars indicated that up to one foot (300 mm) of rain could have fallen over southeastern Taiwan.  That much rain is likely to have caused flash floods in some locations.

Tropical Storm Bailu will continue to move southwest of a subtropical ridge over the Western North Pacific Ocean.  The ridge will continue to steer Bailu toward the northwest.  On its anticipated track the center of Tropical Storm Bailu will make landfall on the east coast of China between Xiamen and Shantou in about 12 hours.  Bailu will bring gusty winds and locally heavy rain to parts of eastern China.  Heavy rain could also produce flash floods in some locations.

Tropical Storm Bailu on Track Toward Taiwan

Tropical Storm Bailu remained on a track toward Taiwan on Thursday night.  At 11:00 p.m. EDT on Thursday the center of Tropical Storm Bailu was located at latitude 19.0°N and longitude 125.6°E which put it about 385 miles (615 km) east-southeast of Hengchun, Taiwan.  Bailu was moving toward the northwest at 15 m.p.h. (24 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 60 m.p.h. (95 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 75 m.p.h. (120 km/h).  The minimum surface pressure was 990 mb.

The circulation around Tropical Storm Bailu was large.  Winds to tropical storm force extended out about 170 miles (280 km) from the center of circulation.  Many of the stronger thunderstorms in Bailu were occurring in bands in the southern half of the circulation.  Bands in the northern half of the circulation consisted primarily of showers and lower clouds.  Tropical Storm Bailu was moving south of an upper level ridge.  The ridge was causing sinking motion to the north of Bailu which appeared to be limiting the development of taller thunderstorms in the northern half of the circulation.

Aside from the sinking motion north of Tropical Storm Bailu, it will move through an environment favorable for intensification.  Bailu will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperature is near 29°C.  It will move through a region where the upper level winds are not too strong and there will not be a lot of vertical wind shear.  Tropical Storm Bailu could intensify on Friday if more thunderstorms develop around the center of circulation.  There is a chance that Bailu could strengthen into a typhoon.

Tropical Storm Bailu will move around the southwestern part of a subtropical ridge over the Western North Pacific Ocean.  The ridge will steer Bailu toward the northwest.  On its anticipated track Tropical Storm Bailu could approach southern Taiwan in about 24 hours.  Bailu could be a typhoon by that time.  It will bring gusty winds and locally heavy rain to Taiwan.  The locally heavy rain could cause flash floods in some locations.