Tropical Storm Matmo has strengthened into a typhoon, and a sea warning is likely to be issued as early as Monday. The storm was formed southwest of Guam and is the 10th named storm of 2014.
The Central Weather Bureau said on Saturday that the storm’s path moved slightly to the west, and may become the first typhoon to make landfall in Taiwan this year.
As of 2pm on Saturday, Matmo was at 1,600 kilometers southeast of Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at a speed of 13 kilometers per hour. The weather bureau said Monday will be a key day to determine the storm’s path. It said if the storm moves to the south, it will just brush past Taiwan without making a landfall.
The weather bureau said the storm is expected to bring rain to all parts of Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday.