Typhoon Koppu on Tuesday has become a tropical storm making it much less a threat to Taiwan’s weather. Its radius is dwindling and it is veering towards the east so it is less likely to hit Taiwan. The Central Weather Bureau might not issue a sea warning.
Since Koppu’s maximum wind speed near the center has gone down to 20 meters per second, it is now classified as a tropical storm. Should the speed drop below 17 m/sec., Koppu would then be classified as a tropical depression. Central Weather Bureau weatherperson Chen Yi-Hsiu explained.
"Our focus today is no longer on its decreasing intensity since it’s already at the bottom of the tropical storm category," said Chen.
"A further decrease (in intensity) will see it qualified as a tropical depression and no longer a typhoon. Its course changing to the east and its dwindling radius makes it less likely to impact our outer sea. We would therefore focus on whether to issue a warning or not."
It is still not possible to predict when the storm would become a tropical depression at this point. It could pass by Taiwan’s outer sea as a mild typhoon. Koppu could bring heavy rain to Taiwan’s eastern region but its effect will likely recede by Saturday.