Tropical Storm Yinxing Upgraded to Typhoon, Approaches Bashi Channel.

Taipei: Tropical Storm Yinxing strengthened to a typhoon early Tuesday, and is expected to move into the Bashi Channel that separates Taiwan and the Philippines, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). As of 8 a.m. Tuesday, Yinxing was located around 970 kilometers southeast of Cape Eluanbi, Taiwan's southernmost point, and was moving northwest at 26 kilometers per hour. According to Focus Taiwan, the storm is currently packing maximum sustained winds of 119 kph and gusts of up to 155 kph, and is expected to be around 700 km southeast of Cape Eluanbi by early Wednesday. Current CWA forecasts indicate that Yinxing will pass through the southern part of the Bashi Channel near northern Luzon in the Philippines over the weekend, but it will not directly impact Taiwan. A typhoon is defined by wind speeds of 118 kph or above, while tropical storms have wind speeds of 62-117 kph, and rotating storms with wind speeds of under 62 kph are classified as tropical depressions.