Typhoon offers city chance to cool down

Shanghai will get some relief from the recent heat wave when Typhoon Soulik passes by the city Friday, the local weather bureau said Wednesday.

The storm had grown in strength Wednesday since emerging from the western Pacific Monday evening. It reached super typhoon status at 2 am Wednesday.

The Shanghai Meteorological Bureau predicted that the typhoon will enter the East China Sea Friday and then hit Taiwan later that day. It might hit Southeast coastal area Saturday. It was not expected to hit Shanghai directly.

The storm will be accompanied by rain and lower temperatures.

Forecasters predicted that the high will fall to 33 C Friday and 34 C Saturday, following nearly two weeks of pavement-baking heat.

The high temperature in Shanghai hit 38.2 C at 2:50 pm Wednesday, a record high for the year. The weather bureau issued an orange high temperature alert at 9:25 am, its third of the month. The bureau issued nine heat warnings in the first 10 days of July.

The orange high temperature alert is the second highest on the city's three-level warning system.

It will be sunny Thursday with a high of 38 C. The wind will grow in strength around the sea Friday and Saturday.