The latest storm information from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said that at 4:00 a.m. on October 2, the center of Typhoon Julian (called Typhoon No. 5 Krathon in the Philippines) was at about 21.4 degrees north latitude, 119.2 degrees east longitude, in the northeastern sea of the North East Sea, 280km northwest of Itbayat, Batanes (Philippines).
The strongest wind near the storm center is level 14-15 (150-183km/h), gusting over level 17; moving west-northwest, speed about 5km/h, central pressure is 945 hPa. Strong winds spread up to 650km from the center of the storm.
In the next 24 hours, very rough seas are forecast with waves up to 5m high on the Batanes coast; waves 4.5m on the Babuyan Islands coast and the northern coast of Ilocos Norte; waves 4m on the remaining coast of Ilocos Norte.
According to PAGASA's storm forecast, there is a significant change in the forecast path of the storm. The storm is still forecast to turn northeast towards the southwest coast of Taiwan (China), expected to make landfall tonight (October 2) or early tomorrow morning (October 3).
After making landfall, Typhoon Krathon is forecast to move erratically over the mainland and coastal waters of Taiwan (China) before appearing in the Taiwan Strait on Friday evening (October 4) or early Saturday morning (October 5).
Typhoon Krathon will then move southwest across the Taiwan Strait and the waters south of mainland China.
Currently, no weather system is dominating the overall movement of Typhoon Krathon. Therefore, it is not ruled out the possibility of a significant change in the forecast path of the storm.
The super typhoon will continue to weaken due to the combination of northeasterly winds blowing into the East China Sea and Taiwan Strait as well as lower ocean heat content in the vicinity.
Krathon is expected to weaken further when it makes landfall over Taiwan (China) due to friction. The tropical cyclone could become a remnant low pressure area by the weekend.
According to the current forecast of the Vietnam National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, storm No. 5 Krathon is unlikely to affect coastal areas and mainland Vietnam.
Super Typhoon Krathon is the second super typhoon in the East Sea in less than a month, after Super Typhoon No. 3 Yagi. This is an unprecedented precedent in the history of the region. These deadly super typhoons are appearing more frequently in recent years and spreading terror to the affected areas.
