Well, technically, it's not 'the first system of the season' (there were a few in May and June,) but it is the first one to pierce the summer heat. In fact, we have really been scorched this year - in the last 3 weeks we have had just one shower that went for about 20 mins - and that was during the night. The rest of the time it has been that unrelenting, energy sapping, brutal Taidong heat. Just walking down each morning to feed the chickens takes a conscious act of will.

People think of a tropical climate as being like living in a paradise, but actually, it's pretty harsh. It just gets so stifingly hot here that you feel something has got to give - and then it does - when a typhoon blows in.

The question is, when will the rain start? CWB is saying it won't begin until tomorrow, but i'm hopeful that we might fluke something later this afternoon or tonight.