Hong Kong to issue T8 signal at 12.20am on Sunday, higher typhoon alert possible

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More than 300 weekend flights have been cancelled as Severe Tropical Storm Wipha approaches Hong Kong, with the local forecaster saying it will issue the No 8 typhoon warning at 12.20am on Sunday and consider a higher signal in the morning.

“Wipha will edge rather close to the vicinity of the Pearl River [Delta on Sunday],” the Hong Kong Observatory said. “Local winds are expected to reach gale to storm force.”

The forecaster warned that adverse weather would persist during the day on Sunday.

“Depending on the distance between Wipha and Hong Kong, whether Wipha will further intensify into a typhoon and the change in local wind conditions, the Observatory will assess the need of issuing higher tropical cyclone warning signals [on Sunday] morning.”

The Airport Authority said it expected there would be no flights between 6am and 12pm on Sunday, and it would take one to two days before operations returned to normal.

“Based on our initial assessment, there will not be any passenger flights coming to Hong Kong before noon [on Sunday], but a small number of long-haul flights which had already departed will arrive,” said Wing Yeung Tat-wing, the authority’s service delivery director.