- Observatory warns of very hot weather in coming days, with potential thunderstorms
- Forecaster says impact of storm on city depends on its strength upon landfall and distance from Pearl River Delta
Hong Kong is bracing for unstable weather from Friday and into the weekend. Photo: Jelly TseThe Hong Kong Observatory will issue the No 1 warning signal on Wednesday night as Typhoon Koinu nears the eastern coast of Guangdong.
The weather forecaster on Tuesday said the storm’s impact on Hong Kong would still depend on its strength after making landfall and its distance from the Pearl River Delta.
“Koinu is expected to edge closer to the eastern coast of Guangdong. It may then move westwards along the coast of Guangdong and its adjacent waters, and weaken gradually under the influence of the northeast monsoon,” the Observatory said in its noon forecast.
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“If Koinu weakens slowly and comes closer to the vicinity of the Pearl River Estuary, it will be rather windy with squally showers over the region on Friday and over the weekend.”
By Tuesday noon, Koinu, named after the constellation of Canis Minor in Japanese, had intensified into a severe typhoon and was centred about 520km east-southeast of Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
“It is forecast to move northwest at about 12km/h towards the vicinity of the southern part of Taiwan and continue to intensify,” the Observatory said.
An anticyclone had also brought mainly fine and very hot weather to southern China, with weak winds over the region, it added.
The “very hot weather” warning was also in effect on Tuesday, with temperatures in some districts reaching 33 degrees Celsius in the afternoon.
The Observatory warned the mercury could hit 35 degrees in the coming days, with the high temperature potentially triggering showers and thunderstorms.
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China’s National Meteorological Centre on Tuesday said Koinu would make landfall or pass over Taiwan’s southern coast as soon as Wednesday night.
In Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration issued a land warning for Koinu at noon on Tuesday, with the alert covering southern cities and counties such as Hualien, Taitung and Pingtung.
The meteorological body also warned that when Koinu came closest from Wednesday to Friday, heavy rain or torrential storms might occur in the northern, southern and central mountainous areas, as well as the northeastern part of the island.