Radar from the Taiwan Weather Service shows the first rain bands approaching Taiwan, Winds are at 150 knots near the center of Nepartak, but it should weaken some before landfall, as it encounters the mountains of Taiwan, and slightly cooler water. It will still be a very dangerous storm though, and it will cross into mainland China, and drop very heavy rainfall over the same area that experienced severe flooding (186 deaths) earlier this week. We may have a real disaster in the making in Asia tonight…

Look at the rainfall forecasts from the NOAA Global model today.

The latest estimate of the central pressure is 905 millibars. This could support wind gusts of over 200 mph.

Here (below) is a late image from Himawari that also shows the city lights. Taiwan is heavily populated, but most people live on the west side of the Island. The bigger threat will be flooding rains in these areas.

Here is the latest track from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Wave heights near the storm are estimated at over 15 meters or near 48 feet.