Whenever the weather in Hong Kong gets oppressively hot, as it has over the past few days, it’s a pretty sure sign that a typhoon is likely soon to hit. According to the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO), a tropical cyclone is developing over the South China Sea area, which means we might be hit with our first typhoon of the year this week.
Is there a typhoon now?
Currently, the Standby Signal No. 1 is in effect, and is expected to remain in force for most of the day. There aren’t strong winds affecting Hong Kong today, but the tropical cyclone’s outer rainbands will bring occasional squally showers over the northern South China Sea and the Guangdong coast.
Where is Typhoon Wutip now?
According to the present forecast by HKO, a broad low-pressure system has upgraded into a tropical depression, and is maintaining a distance of approximately 600 to 700 km from Hong Kong. This is expected to intensify and move in the direction of Hainan island today and tomorrow, then towards the Leizhou Peninsula.
Will the typhoon get worse?
Depending on Wutip’s intensity, distance from Hong Kong, and changes in local wind conditions, the HKO will assess the need to issue a stronger warning signal between tomorrow June 12 and Friday, June 13.
What’s Hong Kong’s weather forecast for this week?
With the tropical cyclone edging closer to coastal areas, we can expect the weather to be windy with heavy squally showers in the latter part of the week. An anticyclone – an area of high pressure with outward-moving winds – is still bringing very hot weather to areas across southern China over today and tomorrow, so it will still be very hot with sunny intervals during the afternoons. The heavy showers are likely to hit on Friday and Saturday, finally tapering off but still showery early on Sunday.
What should the public be aware of?
Since there will be swells, the weather watchdog is urging the public to stay away from the shoreline and to not engage in water sports. As of this morning, there is still a prolonged heat alert, and the HKO urges members of the public to stay sufficiently hydrated. If the typhoon does develop further over the region, changes in the weather will be rather substantial, so it would be best to leave the house prepared.
What does ‘Wutip’ mean?
This tropical cyclone is likely to be named Wutip, a moniker provided by Macau which is the anglicised pronunciation of ‘butterfly’ in Cantonese. Beats us why they chose to name a violent natural phenomenon after a delicate insect, but at least it’s pretty!
Keep an eye on weather updates on the HKO website.
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