[Anchor]

The 30th typhoon of the season, Champi, is moving north after passing east of Taiwan. Although the typhoon is heading toward Japan, rain clouds forming at its outer edge will bring heavy rain to Jeju Island and the southern regions over the weekend.

Reporter Jeong Gu-hui has the details.

[Reporter]

This is Typhoon Champi passing east of Taiwan.

Once a Category 5 super typhoon, Champi has weakened to Category 3, and its radius has shrunk from 500 kilometers to 470 kilometers.

However, the eye of the typhoon remains clear, and fierce winds of 140 kilometers per hour are sweeping around its center.

In Taiwan, which is close to the typhoon, damage has been reported, including uprooted trees and canceled flights.

Satellite imagery shows a band of rain clouds seemingly connected to the typhoon.

Although the typhoon itself is located near Taiwan, warm air pushed northward by the rotating typhoon is colliding with the cold air covering South Korea, generating these rain clouds.

As seen on the radar, rain has been falling continuously in Jeju Island since this afternoon (October 23). As the typhoon moves further north, the rain clouds are expected to shift slightly northward tomorrow, bringing rain to the southern regions and parts of Chungcheong Province.

Through Sunday, heavy rain of up to 250 millimeters is expected in the mountainous areas of Jeju Island, 150 millimeters in Jeju overall, and 80 to 100 millimeters along the southern coast.

Other southern regions will also see up to 60 millimeters of rain.

The typhoon is expected to gradually move northeast toward Kyushu, Japan.

It will be closest to Jeju Island around 3:00 AM on Monday, but the typhoon is expected to weaken rapidly starting Sunday.

Typhoons develop well when water temperatures exceed 27°C (81°F).

However, the water temperature around South Korea is currently 25°C (77°F). While high for autumn, it is not high enough for the typhoon to build up strength.

Accordingly, the typhoon is expected to dissipate upon reaching the inland areas of Japan. However, rain clouds formed at the front of the typhoon will continue to affect South Korea, and strong winds will blow particularly hard around Jeju Island and the southern coast.

(Video Editing: Kim Jong-mi, Design: Lim Chan-hyuk)