Typhoon signal No 1 cancelled as Tropical Storm Ewiniar moves away from Hong Kong
Observatory says that with downpour subsiding, city may see sunny intervals on Sunday
The typhoon signal No 1 in Hong Kong was cancelled on Friday at 6.20pm as skies cleared with Tropical Storm Ewiniar moving away from the city.
The storm had triggered the No 3 typhoon signal at 12.40pm on Thursday, which stayed in place for 27 hours. A red rain alert – the second level in a three-tier system for rain intensity – was issued on Friday morning, but by the afternoon rainstorm warnings were also cancelled.
Tropical Storm Ewiniar was forecast to continue weakening as it slowly moved towards the inland areas of Guangdong.
Observatory senior scientific officer Li Ping-wah said Hongkongers might see periods of sunshine at the end of the week as the rainbands brought by Ewiniar moved east and away from the city.
“We expect rain on Sunday, but there might be sunny intervals in the afternoon,” Li said.
On Friday morning, a red rainstorm warning at 11.30am was sparked by worsening weather, which threatened flash floods and traffic disruption. An hour later it was lowered to amber. By 2.15pm, the warning was cancelled.
A thunderstorm warning, in place since 10pm on Wednesday, was also cancelled on Friday at 3pm.