Typhoon Qiangbi is rapidly intensifying! Next Friday and Saturday will have the most severe impact. It is estimated that the two paths to invade Taiwan and turn northward are still different.

Moderate typhoon "Qiangpi" is rapidly intensifying! The Central Meteorological Administration predicts that Qiangpi is still moving steadily westward, and it is expected to affect Taiwan's weather most severely next Friday and Saturday (23rd and 24th). When it approaches Taiwan, it will have two movement patterns. The first is to start turning northward and leave in the eastern sea, and the second is to pass directly through Taiwan.

Zhang Chengchuan, a forecaster from the Meteorological Administration, said that the weather will be cloudy to sunny everywhere from tomorrow to next Tuesday, with only sporadic short-term rains on the north coast of Keelung, the northeast, the southeast and the Hengchun Peninsula. On Wednesday and Thursday (21st and 22nd) next week, affected by the strengthening of the northeast monsoon, there will be a little rain on the windward side, with localized short-lived showers in the north and northeast of Hsinchu, and sporadic short-lived showers in the east, southeast and Hengchun Peninsula.

"Next Friday and Saturday will be the two days when Typhoon Qiangbi will affect Taiwan most severely." Zhang Chengchuan said that there are currently two models of the typhoon's path predicted by the Meteorological Administration. The first is that when it moves to the sea off the east of Taiwan, it begins to turn north and gradually moves away from Taiwan; the second is that it passes westward and directly passes through Taiwan. The two models are still very different and will not be clearer until next week.

Zhang Chengchuan said that according to the current forecast, next Friday and Saturday will be affected by Typhoon Qiangbi. There will be local heavy rains in the north and northeast, local short-lived showers in the central, eastern and southeastern parts, and sporadic short-lived showers in other areas.

The northeast monsoon will also affect Taiwan starting next Wednesday, and with the approach of the typhoon, will there be a "companion effect" causing heavy rains? Zhang Chengchuan said that at present, it seems that the northeast monsoon will end next Friday, and the chance of a companion effect is very small, but we still need to continue to observe the dynamics of Typhoon Qiangbi. It is developing very quickly and should intensify into a strong typhoon from tonight to tomorrow.

The central pressure of Typhoon Qiangpit is 940 hPa. Its center position at 14:00 this afternoon is at 12.5 degrees north latitude and 147.2 degrees east longitude, that is, on the sea 2980 kilometers southeast and east of Eluanbi. It turns west to northwest at a speed of 22 kilometers per hour. The maximum wind speed near the center is 45 meters per second, which is equivalent to Category 14 winds. The radius of Category 7 storm winds is 180 kilometers and the radius of Category 10 storm winds is 80 kilometers.