CHINA'S national weather forecaster warned yesterday that tropical storm Malou was on course to strike the country's east coast just as Lion Rock was abating.

The National Meteorological Center cancelled the typhoon warning for Lion Rock. It was downgraded to a tropical low pressure front in Guangdong Province on Friday. It would continue to abate as it moves west at 10 kilometers an hour.

However, heavy winds and torrential rains would continue along the southern coast and parts of central China, as the impacts of a southwest monsoon and a cold front as well as Lion Rock merge.

The center said Malou, this year's ninth tropical storm, was traveling northwest at 20 kilometers an hour, heading for the East China Sea. It would then move toward the east coast, bringing gales.

• yesterday [´jestədi] n.&ad.昨天；前不久 (初中英语单词)
• pressure [´preʃə] n.压榨 vt.对...施压力 (初中英语单词)
• province [´prɔvins] n.省；领域；范围 (初中英语单词)
• tropical [´trɔpikəl] a.热带地区的 (高中英语单词)
• southwest [,sauθ´west] n.&a.西南(方)(的) (高中英语单词)
• northwest [,nɔ:θ´west] n.&ad.西北(部) (高中英语单词)
• warning [´wɔ:niŋ] n.警告；前兆 a.预告的 (英语四级单词)