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Sammy Heung

Leopold Chen

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The Hong Kong Observatory has said it will issue a No 3 typhoon signal at 2.20pm on Saturday and will consider whether to upgrade the warning to a No 8 the next day.
The forecaster warned of strong winds and torrential rain over the weekend, as it expected Tropical Storm Wipha to be “rather close” to the Pearl River Delta on Sunday.
A No 1 typhoon signal was issued at 2.20am on Saturday as Wipha entered within 800km (497 miles) of the city.
The Observatory said the signal would remain in force at least until noon and that it would issue a No 3 signal at 2.20pm.
The Education Bureau said that afternoon and whole-day classes at kindergartens, schools for children with physical disabilities and schools for children with intellectual disabilities would be suspended from noon.
But it said such schools should keep their premises open and implement contingency measures to look after any arriving students. They should ensure that conditions were safe before allowing pupils to return home, it added.
The forecaster said winds would gradually strengthen later on Saturday, and showers would be heavy with squally thunderstorms, as the storm was expected to intensify progressively.
“Depending on the distance between Wipha and the Pearl River [Delta], the intensity of Wipha, and the change in local winds, the Observatory will assess, on Saturday afternoon, the need to issue higher tropical cyclone warning signals on early Sunday,” it said.
“Wipha will be rather close to the vicinity of the Pearl River [Delta] on Sunday and there will be heavy squally showers and thunderstorms. Seas will be very rough with swells.”
Residents were also warned to stay away from the shoreline.




In an earlier update, the Observatory had said it expected Wipha to skirt about 50km from the city on Sunday.
The storm’s designation comes from a female name that means “splendour” or “radiance” in Thai.
In 2017, the centre of tropical cyclone Hato passed only about 60km south-southwest of the Observatory’s headquarters, with a No 10 typhoon signal put in force at the time.
The forecaster classifies a storm that passes very close to the city, typically within about 100km, as a “direct hit”.
But Leung Wing-mo, a former Observatory assistant director, said that while 50km could mean the city would be “very close” to the centre of Wipha, it did not necessarily indicate that the wind speed would reach a level similar to that of previous super typhoons.
“Besides distance, the threat or damage a typhoon poses to Hong Kong also depends on its wind speed and the amount of rain it brings,” he said. “Although the Observatory has some predictions, there are still uncertainties.”
He added that computer models for predicting a typhoon’s track generally had an error margin of 50km within 24 hours of the actual time.
Leung said Super Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018 had an estimated maximum sustained wind speed of 250km/h (155mph) near its centre before passing across Luzon. The wind speed dropped to 170km/h afterwards.
The Observatory predicted that the maximum sustained wind speed near Wipha’s centre would reach its highest level of 130km/h at around 8pm on Sunday.
“Based on the Observatory’s current forecast, even though it is strong enough to reach typhoon intensity, it still does not measure up to past typhoons such as Mangkhut or Wanda [in 1962],” Leung added.
The forecaster earlier said the weather would be “very hot” on Saturday under the influence of outer subsiding air before winds gradually strengthened later in the day.
Additional reporting by Jeffie Lam


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Storm expected to pass ‘rather close’ to city on Sunday, as forecaster warns of strong winds and torrential rain over the weekend


Storm expected to pass ‘rather close’ to city on Sunday, as forecaster warns of strong winds and torrential rain over the weekend.


Weather

Extreme weather

Tropical Storm Wipha: Hong Kong to issue T3 signal at 2.20pm, consider T8 next day

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Storm expected to pass ‘rather close’ to city on Sunday, as forecaster warns of strong winds and torrential rain over the weekend

Storm expected to pass ‘rather close’ to city on Sunday, as forecaster warns of strong winds and torrential rain over the weekend