Hong Kong’s weather forecaster has said that the No 1 typhoon warning signal will stay in force for most of Thursday, as squally showers associated with a tropical storm near the coast of Guangdong continue to affect the city.
The Hong Kong Observatory issued the signal at 12.40am on Wednesday and said it would assess whether to raise it to No 3 on Friday.
It also said that Tropical Storm Wutip, which is named after a Cantonese word for “butterfly”, was estimated to be about 710km southwest of Hong Kong, expecting it to move northwest at about 10km per hour in the general direction of Hainan Island and intensify gradually at 8am.
“Wutip will make landfall over Hainan Island [on Friday]. Local winds will weaken. According to the present forecast track, Wutip will move across the western part of southern China afterwards, slightly edging closer to the vicinity of the Pearl River Estuary,” the Observatory said.
It added that under the influence of an active southerly airstream and upper-air disturbances, there would be occasional heavy showers and thunderstorms over Guangdong early next week.
