Typhoon ‘White Dolphin’ Nears China as Flood Peak Passes
China is bracing for a rare far-ocean typhoon named ‘White Dolphin’ as it approaches the country’s eastern coast, while authorities in Chongqing report that the largest flood peak of the year has successfully passed through the Yangtze River. The twin weather events highlight the extreme conditions facing the country during an unusually active 2026 typhoon and flood season.
A Record-Breaking Typhoon
Typhoon ‘White Dolphin’ (international designation 2613) is expected to make landfall on the Zhejiang-Fujian coast between the afternoon of August 9 and the morning of August 10, according to the Central Meteorological Observatory. As of Friday morning, the storm was located approximately 900 kilometers east of Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, carrying maximum winds of 42 meters per second at strong typhoon level.
The storm has already made history. Formed on July 27 from a Central Pacific tropical depression that crossed the International Date Line, ‘White Dolphin’ originated at approximately 176.9 degrees east longitude - the easternmost formation point for any typhoon to ever make landfall in China since records began in 1951. The previous record was held by Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018.
China Weather Network chief analyst Xin Xin confirmed the storm’s historic nature, noting it will set a new record as the typhoon with the easternmost formation point to make landfall in the country. The storm has traveled over 5,000 kilometers from its point of origin, undergone five eyewall replacement cycles, and intensified to super typhoon status three times, with its peak intensity reaching 65 meters per second on July 30.
Uncertain Path and Widespread Preparations
The typhoon’s path after entering the East China Sea remains uncertain, with forecasters tracking two possible scenarios. The storm could continue westward for landfall on the Zhejiang-Fujian coast, or turn northward toward the Yangtze River mouth and Shandong Peninsula.
China Weather Network analyst Sun Qianqian explained that as a far-ocean typhoon, ‘White Dolphin’ has a long life cycle and travels a long distance, encountering alternating influences from multiple weather systems during its westward journey. “The variables in its steering environment are more numerous and its evolution is more complex,” she said.
Central Meteorological Observatory Chief Forecaster Zhang Ling noted that forecast uncertainty is significant, influenced by both the Western Pacific subtropical high and newly formed tropical systems east of the storm. If the typhoon follows the AI model prediction of landfall near Hangzhou Bay followed by a northward turn, it could bring record-breaking rainfall to East China, similar to Typhoon Lekima in 2019.
Authorities have already activated extensive preparations. Zhejiang and Fujian provinces have raised typhoon response levels, with Zhejiang’s maritime bureau activating a Level II coastal response on Friday morning. The National Flood Control Headquarters activated a Level IV flood and typhoon emergency response for both provinces on August 6. According to Jiemian News via Sina Finance, all 193 water projects in Zhejiang have halted operations, 474 construction vessels have moved to safe anchorages, and more than 10,000 people have been evacuated from remote islands.
Yangtze Flood Peak Passes
Meanwhile, on August 6, the largest flood peak of the year successfully passed through the Fuling section of the Yangtze River in Chongqing, with water levels rising cumulatively over 6 meters. Xinhua News reported that water levels in the Fuling section are now slowly receding.
The Changjiang Fuling Waterway Bureau activated flood prevention plans in advance, using a digital waterway system for 24-hour monitoring to precisely track the status of every navigation mark. As China News Service detailed, during the flood peak, authorities conducted 35 patrol trips, inspected vessels across over 1,100 kilometers of waterway, and adjusted 29 navigation marks to ensure safe passage for shipping.
Broader Weather Context
The twin events come amid a broader pattern of extreme weather across China. The country is experiencing a strong El Nino year, with unusually warm waters in the Central and Eastern Pacific shifting typhoon formation zones further east and enabling storms to become more powerful. By late July, four super typhoons had already formed in the Pacific, including ‘White Dolphin’.
Wang Chao, a professor at Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, noted that the strength of a typhoon fundamentally depends on ocean thermal energy and atmospheric dynamics - and in 2026, both conditions are fully maximized.
At the same time, a cold air mass moving south is expected to bring relief from prolonged heat waves affecting central and eastern China. Northeast China will see temperatures drop below 30 degrees Celsius first, with Tianjin and Shijiazhuang expected to exit the high-temperature zone by Saturday. However, Xinjiang’s Turpan Basin continues to approach 45 degrees Celsius.
What to Watch For
The immediate focus remains on ‘White Dolphin’s’ landfall trajectory and intensity. With the storm expected to pass through the Ryukyu Islands on Friday and enter the East China Sea, forecasters will have a clearer picture of its ultimate path by the weekend. Authorities urge residents in coastal areas to prepare for potentially severe wind and rain impacts, and to remain alert for secondary hazards such as mountain torrents, landslides, and urban flooding in the storm’s aftermath.
For the Yangtze, waterway authorities continue to track water conditions and dynamically optimize navigation arrangements as the flood season continues through September. The successful management of the record flood peak demonstrates the effectiveness of China’s digital waterway monitoring systems, even as the country faces the compounding challenges of typhoons, floods, and extreme heat simultaneously.