Hong Kong Observatory cancels typhoon warning signal as Tropical Storm Rai weakens
- Rai was the first storm to prompt a typhoon warning in December in 47 years
- While the storm was weakening rapidly on Tuesday, wet weather remains expected all week
Hong Kong’s first December typhoon signal in 47 years came to an end on Tuesday, just over 24 hours after it began, as Tropical Storm Rai continued to weaken and move away from the city.
The Observatory officially took down its warning at 12.20pm, while noting the city remained under the effect of a northeast monsoon with occasional strong winds and sea swells. It continued to advise residents to stay away from the shoreline and avoid water sports.
Tropical Cyclone Rai bringing cold, wet Christmas to Hong Kong
“Storm Rai is expected to be closest to Hong Kong at around noon, but will pass by the city quickly within 200km to the south and continue to weaken,” the weather forecaster said earlier in the morning.
The storm, named after large circular stone carvings found in Micronesia, became the first to earn a December tropical storm warning since Super Typhoon Irma struck in 1974 . As of 9am, it was about 170km south-southwest of Hong Kong.
Lee Shuk-ming, senior scientific officer at the Observatory, said it was rare to have a tropical cyclone in December.
The 1974 warning was in force for about 10 hours before being upgraded to a No 3, which remained in place for another 17 hours.
“A December tropical cyclone is rare. We only have had a total of four since records started in 1961,” Lee told a Tuesday radio programme.
The No 1 typhoon signal initially went up on Monday at 11.20am. At the time, the forecaster’s senior scientific chief, Yeung Kwok-chung, said Rai was gradually approaching the coast of Guangdong, but weakening due to the relatively cold waters in the northern part of the South China Sea.
Due to Irma’s impact, the Observatory recorded 177.3mm of rain on December 2, 1974. It remains the rainiest December day on record.
