By Jordan Root, Meteorologist
September 13,2016; 8:29AM,EDT
Super Typhoon Meranti became one of the strongest storms in the Western Pacific and will batter Taiwan with flooding rain, damaging winds and dangerous storm surge on its way to eastern China.
Meranti, currently equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane, reached super typhoon status on Monday afternoon local time. A super typhoon is classified when sustained wind speeds hit at least 240 km/h (150 mph).
Meranti strengthened with sustained winds hitting 120 knots (138 mph), a level similar to Typhoon Haiyan.
Haiyan, which moved through the Western Pacific in November of 2013, was one of the strongest storms ever recorded for the basin. Haiyan, also known as Yolanda in certain countries, was the deadliest typhoon to hit the Philippines in recorded history. More than 6,000 were killed.
Damaging winds, torrential rain and mudslides from Meranti will threaten Taiwan early Wednesday morning into Thursday as the center tracks just to the south of the country.
"Meranti will be traveling through an environment with low wind shear and very warm ocean water which is favorable for holding on to this strength," AccuWeather Meteorologist Adam Douty said.
Meranti will likely cause damage across parts of Taiwan, especially the southeastern coast. Rough surf will begin to batter the coast on Tuesday and will only increase heading into Wednesday. A storm surge of 2 to 3 meters (7 to 10 feet) is expected.
Sustained winds of 160 km/h to 190 km/h (100 mph to 120 mph) are also likely where the system comes onshore on Wednesday, resulting in downed trees and power outages.
Significant rainfall of 250 to 500 mm (10 to 20 inches) will be possible with locally higher amounts of up to 750 mm (30 inches) in the mountains.
"Rainfall of this magnitude will lead to significant flash flooding and mudslides," Douty said.
While the eastern side of the island will take the brunt of the storm, the southwestern side will also experience heavy rain and gusty winds later on Wednesday and into Thursday.
This could be a poor start to celebrations of the of the Mid-Autumn Festival (Moon Festival) in southern Taiwan which starts on Thursday.
Some ferry services will be suspended due to the anticipated heavy rain and strong winds, Focus Taiwan reported on Monday.
Rainfall amounts of 100 mm to 200 mm (4 to 8 inches) are likely from Pingtung county northward to Yilan County. Wind gusts of 95 km/h to 130 km/h (60 to 80 mph) will also be possible. This could lead to minor to moderate wind damage and flooding.
Taipei will likely be too far north to get the full impact from Meranti, with much of the rain and wind staying off to the south.
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The system is expected to pull away from Taiwan on Thursday, making landfall in China, along the southern Fujian Province coast.
By this time, Meranti will be slightly weaker from interacting with land, but will still be impactful.
"There is the potential for Meranti to make landfall with winds equivalent to that of a Category 3 hurricane," Douty.
"Wind damage is most likely to remain along the coast, while flooding rains will be the primary threat further inland," he said.
Widespread 100 to 200 mm (4 to 8 inches) of rain will be possible across northern Fujian into Zhejiang.
With the Mid-Autumn Festival also being celebrated in China, eastern parts of the country may have to deal with squalls of heavy rain and storms from Meranti, starting late on Thursday.
This rain is expected to then shift northeastward and get carried to inland parts of eastern China at the end of the week and into the weekend, further dampening any festivities.
At this point, Meranti is likely to fall apart with the moisture being pulled away from the system towards southern Japan.
Meranti will likely not be the last system that China and Taiwan will need to watch this week. Another tropical system is likely to develop late week that could cause further impacts to the region.
AccuWeather Meteorologist Courtney Spamer contributed content to this story.
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