THE HOISTING OF typhoon signal No 8 usually heralds a frenzy of activity: mass exodus from work, traffic jams, a rush to fetch kids from school or to catch the last ferry, taping up of windows and the packing of bars offering the safety and comfort of a typhoon lock-in.
But while many are battening down the hatches, Clarence Fong Chi-kong is at home preparing to head out into the elements. The CNN webmaster puts on a raincoat, packs his hi-tech weather monitoring devices and calls his friends. Together they set off by car to the most exposed parts of the New Territories to find the most extreme conditions they can. They are the typhoon chasers.
'We chase the typhoon and measure the wind,' the 32-year-old explains. 'The most exciting time was being on Tai Mo Shan during a No 9 signal at night. The wind was 140km/h. The car was shaking. We dared not get out; it was too painful when the rain hit you.'
Typhoons are as good as it gets for Fong, although he can also get worked up about black rainstorms, a winter frost or a freak hail shower. He is Hong Kong's most renowned amateur meteorologist; a cyber celebrity among a small but fanatical band of weather watchers across the city.
It appears many are interested. Weather Underground has 500 members and dozens contribute to a daily news forum on the hot (or cold) topic of the day. Most are from Hong Kong but some hail from as far as the United States, Australia and Guam. Locally it has become a community.
'I have made many friends through the Weather Underground,' says Gary Tsang Chun-yan, an 18-year-old science student. He began using the site when he was 12, taking part in weather prediction competitions and discussion groups. 'It's a community. Two or three times a year we go for a barbecue and talk about the weather,' he says.
