Update : For the latest updates, please read this article.
According to forecasts, Hong Kong will see its next typhoon this weekend, as Severe Typhoon Koinu will come within 400kms of the territory. The Hong Kong Observatory will issue Standby Signal, No. 1 on Wednesday night or early Thursday morning. Koinu is now a Severe Typhoon and is predicted to grow to a Super Typhoon by Wednesday morning. However, it is forecast to weaken to Tropical Depression intensity by Sunday, when it will be closest to the SAR.
“Tropical Cyclone Koinu will enter within 800 kilometres of Hong Kong from tonight (October 4) to early tomorrow morning (October 5). The Observatory will then issue the Standby Signal, No. 1. Koinu is expected to move across the southern part of Taiwan towards the coast of eastern Guangdong. It will then move westwards, edging closer to the vicinity of the Pearl River Estuary. Meanwhile, it will weaken gradually under the influence of the northeast monsoon,” according to the Hong Kong Observatory.
The meteorological body also predicted that there “may be squally showers over the weekend with strong northerly winds” and that the temperature will drop. In the meantime, it will be sunny and “very hot and dry with sunny periods”.
Hong Kong has had two major typhoons over the summer: Typhoon Talim, for which Storm Signal No. 8 was raised, and Typhoon Saola, during which the Storm Signal 10 was hoisted for the first time in five years. During both typhoons, most of the city’s public transportation was impacted, with the MTR running at reduced frequencies, and bus and ferry services cancelled.
The city also experienced its highest rainfall in 140 years in early September, when the longest Black Rainstorm warning in the city’s history — lasting 16 hours and 35 minutes — was issued. Schools across the territory closed, roads were waterlogged, and the Wong Tai Sin MTR station flooded.
To understand Hong Kong’s typhoon signals and weather warnings, check out our explainer here. If you want to know how to best prepare for a typhoon in Hong Kong, read our guide here.
Header image credits: Ababsolutum via Canva
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