Taipei: A tropical depression developing east of the Philippines is expected to bring torrential rain to eastern Taiwan and the Hengchun Peninsula in the south starting Friday, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA).

According to Focus Taiwan, forecasters indicated on Wednesday that the system may strengthen into Tropical Storm Wipha as early as Thursday, with its outer rainbands likely to affect Taiwan’s east coast. It would be the sixth storm of the Western Pacific’s typhoon season.

As of 8 a.m. Wednesday, the storm’s center was located over waters east of Luzon Island, moving west at 34 kilometers per hour, and it was packing sustained winds of 54 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 83 kph, the CWA reported. Forecasters predicted the storm is expected to pass over the northern part of Luzon Island and move toward the South China Sea, possibly heading for Guangdong or Hainan provinces in China.

At present, the system is still too far from Taiwan to issue a sea warning, the CWA stated, but noted that if the storm system’s path shifts slightly north or the storm grows in size, a sea warning for Taiwan could still be issued. The system is expected to come closest to Taiwan on Saturday, passing just south of the island, before gradually moving away Sunday.

Independent meteorologist Wu Der-rong also cautioned on Wednesday that the tropical system has “a high potential for heavy rainfall in eastern Taiwan and southern Pingtung” as it passes through the Bashi Channel over the weekend.