FUZHOU — Typhoon Dolphin is expected to bring heavy to torrential rain and strong winds to eastern China as it approaches the coast, with China’s National Meteorological Center maintaining an orange typhoon warning on Saturday and forecasting landfall between Zhejiang and northern Fujian provinces.
The typhoon was about 520 km east of Wenzhou in Zhejiang at 9 a.m. local time on Saturday, with maximum sustained winds near its center of 45 meters per second and a central pressure of 950 hectopascals, according to China Weather, which publishes information from the National Meteorological Center.
The storm, the 13th typhoon of the 2026 season, was forecast to move west-northwest at about 10 to 15 km per hour. Forecasters said it could make landfall from Sunday night to Monday morning along the coast between Zhoushan in Zhejiang and Fuding in Fujian, with maximum winds of 38 to 45 meters per second at landfall.
Heavy to torrential rain was forecast from Saturday afternoon through Sunday afternoon across much of Zhejiang, Shanghai, southeastern Jiangsu and southeastern Anhui. Parts of northeastern Zhejiang and northern Taiwan could receive 100 to 220 mm of rain, the National Meteorological Center said.
The storm was also expected to produce strong winds across the East China Sea, Hangzhou Bay, the Yangtze River estuary and coastal areas of Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and northeastern Fujian. Winds of up to force 14, with stronger gusts near the storm's center, were forecast over parts of the region.
Authorities have begun taking precautionary measures as the storm approaches. Zhejiang province activated an emergency response, while airlines have reported cancellations and offered passengers flexible changes or refunds. Shanghai and airports in Ningbo, Wenzhou, Taizhou and Hangzhou were among those affected by flight disruptions on Saturday.
China's National Meteorological Center had initially issued a yellow alert on Thursday before the warning was raised to orange, the second-highest level in the country's four-tier weather warning system.
Forecasters have warned that the storm's post-landfall path remains uncertain. China's meteorological authorities said its remnants could contribute to prolonged rainfall in northern and northeastern China from Aug. 12 to 14, depending on how the system interacts with other weather patterns.
