The second tropical storm of the season has formed in the Philippine Sea. Tropical Storm Surigae is not projected to hit Taiwan, but it will make its closest approach on Sunday. Forecasters say the storm will not relieve the ongoing drought, and could even lower the chance of plum rains the rest of the month. However, the Central Weather Bureau sees a ray of hope on the horizon, with steady rainfall in the forecast for mid-May.

The jackets were out on Wednesday as the weather turned cool up north. Low temps are expected to stay over the coming days. At 2 a.m. on Wednesday, Tropical Storm Surigae formed in the Philippine Sea. It could turn into a typhoon by next Tuesday.

Wu Wan-hua
Forecaster
From today to next Monday, the tropical storm will slowly move northwest, to the west, toward the sea east of the Philippines. In the process of moving northwest, it will not have a direct impact on us. As to whether there will be rainfall in central and southern Taiwan, such a path is not conducive to bringing about rain.

Forecasters say the long-awaited storm won’t do much for the drought down south. In fact, it could make rainfall even less likely the rest of the month. Due to a dominant high-pressure system over China, Tropical Storm Surigae will have a hard time pulling too close to Taiwan. It’s forecast to veer north away from the island, which would usher in a wave of northeasterly winds. That would send temperatures plunging, creating unfavorable conditions for afternoon thunderstorms in central and southern Taiwan.

Around 6 p.m. Tuesday, cloud seeding was performed over the Shimen Reservoir, producing light rain. Even so, capacity remains low at 29.5%.

According to CWB Director Cheng Ming-dean, relief for the drought could arrive next month. On his social media, Cheng released the latest plum rains projection, which showed trend lines for wind shear turning positive on May 21. This means there’s a good chance of significant rainfall that could alleviate the drought.