The Hong Kong Observatory will issue signal T3 at 12:40pm on Friday, as Typhoon Yagi departs the city. The territory’s meteorological body says that Yagi, which is currently a Super Typhoon, has taken a “more westerly track” towards Hainan and that the winds it brought to the SAR will gradually weaken. Hong Kong been under the T8 alert since Thursday evening.
As of 9am on Friday, Super Typhoon Yagi was within 300km of Hong Kong. It will continue its westward track and weaken to a Tropical Storm by Sunday. The observatory predicts that the weather on Friday will be cloudy with occasional squally showers and thunderstorms. The weather will remain unsettled on Saturday, with heavy showers and rough seas, but the rain will ease off in the following couple of days. Temperatures will range between 26 degrees and 33 degrees Celsius over the coming week.
Once the T3 warning comes into effect, public transport across the city will gradually resume normal services. The MTR has been running fewer trains and suspended bus operations after T8 was raised, and all ferry trips were cancelled. Primary and secondary schools will reopen on Monday, and kindergartens and special classes will also resume if the T3 alert is cancelled by 6am on Monday.
While the observatory said that 5-8 cyclones would hit the city this year, only three typhoons have impacted the SAR as of September 2024 — Tropical Storm Maliksi for which T3 was issued, Severe Tropical Storm Prapiroon for which T1 was hoisted, and Super Typhoon Yagi. However, the local weather forecaster recently predicted that 3-5 tropical more cyclones may come within 500km of Hong Kong during the rest of the year.
Read our explainer on Hong Kong’s tropical cyclone and rainstorm warning signals. For more weather updates, visit the Hong Kong Observatory website.
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