Hong Kong back in business after Wipha as all typhoon signals lifted

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Hong Kong returned to normality on Monday morning as the Observatory lifted all storm warnings overnight following the departure of Typhoon Wipha, which triggered the highest-level No 10 warning over the weekend.

But the forecaster warned that the city would still be hit by showers and squally thunderstorms over the next few days under the influence of the outer rainbands of Wipha, which had now weakened into a tropical cyclone.

A No 8 typhoon signal or above was in force for 19 hours on Sunday, including seven hours for the No 10 hurricane warning, before the Observatory downgraded it to No 3 at 7.40pm. It was replaced with the No 1 signal at 3.20am before all warnings were cancelled at 5.10am on Monday.

Wipha, which is a woman’s name in Thai meaning “splendour” or “radiance”, was the fifth typhoon to trigger the No 10 signal in the past two decades. But the maximum average wind speed near its centre, 140km/h, was among the lowest.