BANGKOK, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) said on Wednesday on its website that it is closely monitoring tropical storm Podul, which is expected to cross into northern Thailand and cause heavy rain in between Saturday and Monday.
The storm pushed across eastern Luzon of the northern Philippines on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, weakening to a tropical depression while it was just off the coast, but it has since regained tropical storm status since moving over the South China Sea, the TMD said.
Podul may reach typhoon strength prior to landfall for a second time, which is likely to be in China's Hainan Province on Friday, followed by another landfall in northern Vietnam on Saturday.
"As Podul pushes across the South China Sea, a monsoon trough is moving across northern and far northeastern Thailand to develop into a low pressure cell over Laos. Compounded by the southwestern monsoon, which is hovering over the Andaman Sea, Thailand and the Gulf of Thailand will experience strong winds and continuous rain with isolated heavy rain as well as rough seas in the Andaman Sea and the Gulf," the TMD said.
