Hong Kong set for very hot weather as Super Typhoon Maria swirls over western Pacific

Hong Kong will get very hot by midweek as Super Typhoon Maria closes in on Taiwan, Japan and eastern China, though rainstorms in the latter part of the week are likely to provide some respite.

The Hong Kong Observatory said on Sunday the storm, swirling over the western Pacific Ocean off Guam, was forecast to make landfall in two or three days but would be far enough away from Hong Kong to not cause any real harm.

At 8pm on Sunday, Maria was centred about 1,610km (1,000 miles) east-southeast of Taipei and forecast to scrape across its northern waters on Wednesday.

Maria was forecast to move west-northwest at about 20km/h (12mph) over the north of Taiwan and Japan’s Ryukyu Islands, according to the Observatory.

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“Maria will be within 800km of Hong Kong on Wednesday but the main impact on the city will be from the very hot weather its outer subsiding air will bring,” scientific officer Chong Sze-ning said.

The maximum temperature was expected to hit 33 degrees Celsius or more on Wednesday.

As the typhoon moves away, a broad trough of low pressure that has been bringing showers to the coast of Guangdong province will resume its effect on the city, bringing back the same rainy weather the city has experienced for days.

A super typhoon, the most intense tropical cyclone classification, has a sustained wind speed of at least 185km/h near its centre.

On Saturday, Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau said it would likely issue a sea warning on Monday or Tuesday as the storm edged closer.

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According to forecasts by the United States military’s Joint Typhoon Warning Centre, Maria was forecast to hit its peak around Tuesday and would be “more than capable of producing severe damage and flooding”.

Maria, which evolved into a super typhoon from a severe tropical storm on Friday, got its name from Hurricane Maria, which wreaked havoc on Puerto Rico last year.