Passing just northeast of the Philippines two days later, Thelma would not undergo further development due to the TUTT cell receding northwards, making landfall in the Port of Kaohsiung on July 25.

Rapidly weakening once inland, Thelma entered Taiwan Strait and made landfall in Fuzhou, China as a tropical depression, dissipating on July 27.

[4] Reconnaissance aircraft that same day found flight level winds of 55 kn (102 km/h; 63 mph), which alongside corroborating satellite data, prompted both the JTWC and JMA to upgrade the depression into Tropical Storm Thelma[4][3] Thelma underwent further intensification due to intense cyclonic cells which were from a tropical upper tropospheric trough (TUTT) to the north, which supplied highly efficient outflow channels for the nascent storm.

As a result, on the evening of July 23, Thelma entered the Bashi Channel, passing just 10 nautical miles (19 km) northeast of Escarpada Point, Philippines.

[4] Around that time, the JMA noted that Thelma peaked with 10-minute sustained winds of 80 mph (130 km/h),[3] with further development not occurring due to the TUTT cell receding northwards.

[4] On the morning of July 25, radar data alongside satellite imagery shown that Thelma had begun accelerating north-northeast at a speed of 12 mph (19 km/h).

[3][4] Rapidly weakening once inland, Thelma entered Taiwan Strait and early the next day, made landfall in Fuzhou, China as a tropical depression.

[16] Prime Minister Chiang Ching-kuo presided over an emergency meeting of the Cabinet prior to flying to the south to inspect relief efforts.

[7] Although these relief efforts occurred in "an amazingly short time", Vera, which impacted Taiwan 6 days later, compromised the year-long process of mending the 32 boats sank and 22 ships damaged during Thelma.