Rain to persist but storm warning over, with typhoon still looming on horizon
Forecast comes in wake of news that last month was second hottest June on record
The Hong Kong Observatory has cancelled its amber rain warning – however showers and squally thunderstorms are expected to continue over the day as super typhoon Nepartak looms 1,060km southeast of Kaohsiung.
More than 30 millimetres of rain were recorded over Hong Kong Island, Lantau Island and the eastern part of New Territories this morning, with a rain warning issued at 4.40am.
The Observatory earlier warned that flooding might occur in some low-lying and poorly drained areas.
“People who are likely to be affected should take necessary precautions to reduce their exposure to risks posed by the heavy rain and flooding,” the statement read.
As of 8am, areas in the Island district were among the hardest hit, with some places seeing up to 59mm of rain in the preceding hour.
Hong Kong can expect several cooler and wetter days, but temperatures in the city could possibly reach 35 degrees Celsius on Friday with the approach of typhoon Nepartak.
The Observatory said the intensifying typhoon would be nearest to the city on Friday or Saturday, and it was expected to pass by within 800km of Hong Kong. A standby signal No 1 is possible.
As of 10am this morning, Nepartak was 1,060km east-southeast of Kaohsiung. It was forecast to move northwest at about 30km/h in the general direction of Taiwan.
The rain and high temperatures are set to follow what the Observatory recorded as the second hottest June since records began 132 years ago, with an average temperature of 29.4 degrees.
The figure is 1.5 degrees higher than the June average of 27.9 degrees.
It was also the third June in a row that the monthly average temperature hit an abnormal high.
The hottest June was recorded last year when the mercury hit an average 29.7 degrees for the month, following 2014 when the thermometer reached an average 29 degrees for the first time.
The city was also caught in a heat wave that lasted for nine days. The Observatory recorded daily maximum temperatures soaring above 35 degrees for four consecutive days from June 24 to 27.
It was the first time this had happened since records began in 1884.
The last record was in 1963 when a hot spell pushed the mercury to over 35 degrees for three days from May 30 to June 1.
The highest temperature of the month of 35.5 degrees was recorded on June 25, the second hottest day in June. On June 1, 1963, the thermometer hit a record 35.6 degrees.
The records appeared at odds with the Observatory’s prediction earlier this year that Hong Kong would have a milder summer, partly because of changing weather patterns. The forecast was based on a 50 per cent chance that one of the strongest ever El Nino phenomena in years would be succeeded by a La Nina.
An Observatory spokesman said on Tuesday: “The unusually hot weather in June was mainly due to the dominance of a subtropical ridge over southern China in the latter half of the month, which resulted in much sunshine in the city.”
The total duration of sunshine last month was 173.5 hours – 27.4 hours higher than the norm of 146.1 hours.
And despite several heavy rain patches in the first half of the month, monthly total rainfall was only 347.4 millimetres, almost a quarter below the norm of 456.1mm.
But for the first half of the year, the accumulated rainfall was 1,232.8mm, about 12 per cent above the norm of 1,096.9mm for the same period.
But Hong Kong can expect wetter and cooler days ahead.
The outlook for Wednesday is mainly cloudy with occasional showers and isolated squally thunderstorms as areas of showers over the northeastern part of the South China Sea edge closer to the Guangdong coast.
Temperatures are forecast to range between 26 and 32 degrees.
