Developing | Hong Kong’s T1 typhoon signal to stay in force until 5pm on Sunday, with upgrade possible
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The Hong Kong Observatory has said a No 1 typhoon warning will remain in force until at least 5pm on Sunday, with a higher signal being considered for the evening as a tropical depression is expected to reach Hainan Island later.
The tropical depression, which is situated in the central part of the South China Sea, was estimated to be about 720 kilometres (441 miles) south-southwest of Hong Kong as of 10am.
It is expected to move northwest at about 14km/h (8.7mph) towards the vicinity of Hainan Island.
“The Standby Signal No 1 will remain in force at least until 5pm,” the forecaster said, referring to the warning issued at 10.40pm on Saturday.
The tropical depression has begun to adopt a more northwesterly track near the Paracel Islands, known as the Xisha Islands in China, and is expected to intensify slightly and make landfall over Hainan on Sunday night and Monday morning.
The Observatory said its outer rainbands were affecting the vicinity of the Pearl River Delta and had occasionally brought strong winds offshore and to high ground in Hong Kong.
“Depending on the distance between the Pearl River Estuary and the tropical depression, the change of its intensity and the local wind conditions, the Observatory will assess the need for issuing higher tropical cyclone warning signals [on Sunday night].
The forecaster reminded the public to stay away from the shoreline and not to engage in water sports as there would be sea swells.
Sunday’s weather is expected to be mainly cloudy with a few squally showers and thunderstorms, with temperatures of between 28 and 32 degrees Celsius (82.4 and 89.6 Fahrenheit).
The unstable weather is predicted to continue on Monday and will improve only around midweek.
