Tropical Storm Wutip: Hong Kong’s T1 alert to stay in effect until at least Friday
Observatory says city will be hit by heavy showers and potential violent gusts on Thursday night
Hong Kong’s weather forecaster warned the city would be hit by heavy showers and potential violent gusts on Thursday night, as it said the No 1 typhoon warning signal would remain in force until Friday afternoon or possibly Saturday.
The forecaster said in a special weather warning at 8pm on Thursday that heavy rain and potential violent gusts were expected in some areas in the next couple of hours. It reminded members of the public to be alert.
Tropical Storm Wutip, the Cantonese word for “butterfly”, was about 750km (466 miles) southwest of Hong Kong at 9pm and expected to move northwest at about 10km/h (6.2mph) to the western part of Hainan and intensify slightly. It will then move towards Beibu Wan to the Leizhou Peninsula.
The forecaster said it would assess whether to raise the signal to No 3 on Friday afternoon or Saturday.
Tse Wai-po, acting senior scientific officer, said: “Under the combined effect of the broad circulation of Wutip and the ridge of high pressure over the coast of southeastern China, local winds are occasionally strong offshore and on high ground.”