Tropical Storm Hato To Impact Southern China
By Drew Lerner
Kansas City, August 20 (World Weather Inc.) – Tropical Storm Hato was moving between Taiwan and Luzon Island Philippines at 2100 GMT Sunday. The storm was expected to intensify to typhoon intensity before reaching land in Guangdong China late 
Tuesday. Hato will move west northwesterly after making landfall producing heavy rain from Guangdong into Guangxi, China with some rain also possible in northeastern Vietnam. Some damage to rice and sugarcane will be possible in Guangdong, China.
At 2100 GMT today (Sunday) the center of the storm was located 456 miles south southeast of Taipei, Taiwan at 20.0 north, 123.1 east. Movement was west northwesterly at nearly 20 mph and maximum sustained wind speeds near the storm center were reaching 40 mph. Tropical storm force wind (near and greater than 40mph) was occurring out 35 miles from the storm center.
Tropical Storm Hato was expected to pass between Taiwan and northern Luzon Island, Philippines overnight tonight and into the day Monday. The storm will accelerate from there toward Hong Kong while intensifying. The storm may be a weak typhoon as it moves over the coast. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center moves the storm through central Guangdong and then into Guangxi. World Weather, Inc. believes the storm may turn a little more to the west allowing landfall to occur a little further west in Guangdong and then it will track more to the south through southern Guangxi. In either case, the storm will produce heavy rain and some flood conditions in Guangdong and Guangxi. The storm center may slip near or over the northeastern Vietnam/Guangxi border area on Thursday, although confidence is low.
Rainfall of 4.00 to more than 9.00 inches will accompany the storm inland across parts of Guangdong. Rainfall in Guangxi will range from 2.50 to more than 6.00 inches and flooding will be possible in both provinces. Most of the storm’s strongest wind will be spent along the central Guangdong coast where some damage to crops and structures will be possible. Wind speeds should not be any stronger than 80 mph. There is potential it could intensify more than expected, but its forward speed must slow first.
Sugarcane, rice and some groundnuts are produced along the storm’s projected path and that may result in some damage. Vietnam’s coffee will receive some rain from the system if it takes the more southerly track that World Weather, Inc. expects, but no crop damaging conditions are likely in that country. Any losses in China are expected to be localized to the southernmost parts of Guangdong unless the storm intensifies more than expected and it moves more northwesterly and then a greater amount of cropland might be negatively impacted.
A second tropical cyclone may form in the wake of Tropical Storm Hato over the region between Taiwan and Luzon Island later this week. However, the system may have trouble organizing after Hato stirs up the water in that region.
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