According to AccuWeather's weather bulletin, Typhoon Malou appeared earlier this week in the western Mariana Islands and moved north-northeast, reaching the intensity of a Category 1 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Typhoon Wind Scale on October 26. Typhoon Malou will pass west and north of the Mariana Islands but is expected to pass near or through the Volcano Islands around October 28 as it turns northeast.
Meanwhile, the Thai Meteorological Department said on October 27 that Typhoon Malou will not approach Thailand by the end of this month as widely reported in the media, although the upper Thailand will experience unstable weather as well as heavy rain, strong winds and lightning.
The meteorological agency confirmed that Typhoon Malou will not approach Thailand and will instead head towards Japan. However, the meteorological agency warned that the tropical depression in the East Sea could increase rainfall in the eastern, southern and central regions of Thailand as well as in the lower Northeast region of Thailand.
According to the Vietnam National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, on the morning of October 27, the tropical depression weakened into a low pressure area and made landfall in Khanh Hoa province, Vietnam. At 7:00 a.m. on October 27, the center of the low pressure area was located right on the mainland of Khanh Hoa province. The strongest wind in the center of the low pressure area drops below level 6 (under 40km/h).
In the South Central and Central Highlands provinces of Vietnam, there was heavy to very heavy rain with total rainfall from 7:00 a.m. on October 26 to 7:00 a.m. on October 27, generally from 100-200mm, some places over 300mm; in the coastal areas of Binh Dinh - Phu Yen, there were gusts of wind of level 6-7.
It is forecasted that in the next 12 hours, the low pressure area will move in the West Northwest direction, traveling 10-15km per hour, moving deep into the mainland and weakening further.
According to the Thailand Meteorological Administration, from October 28 to November 3, a cold air mass from China will affect upper Thailand and the East Sea. Cold air can lead to unstable weather, heavy rain, strong winds and lightning.
