Travelers heading for southeastern coastal regions like Fujian and Guangdong provinces to celebrate the coming Mid-Autumn Festival may encounter stormy weather instead of a full moon this year.

The approaching Typhoon Meranti, the 14th of the year, has grown into the world's strongest typhoon of 2016. It is expected to make landfall on Thursday morning, the festival day, Xu Yinglong, chief forecaster at the Central Meteorological Observatory, said on Tuesday.

The storm will weaken as it moves northward but will affect Jiangxi province on Friday, he said, adding that another typhoon will immediately follow and is expected to make landfall soon.