Hong Kong lifts amber rain warning, showers and thunderstorms to persist
Despite cancellation of the warning, Observatory warns of danger from possible river flooding, urges public to stay alert
The Hong Kong Observatory has cancelled an earlier issued amber rainstorm warning but cautioned that squally showers and thunderstorms would continue to affect the city in the coming days.
The amber alert, the lowest in the three-tier rainstorm warning system, was lifted at 11.30am on Saturday, 90 minutes after it was issued. It indicates that more than 30mm (1.2 inches) of rain has fallen, or is expected to fall, within an hour across Hong Kong.
“Though [the] rainstorm warning has been cancelled, people should stay alert to the danger that may be brought about by river flooding,” the forecaster said.
Between 9am and 11am, the observatory recorded more than 5,700 lightning strikes, of which 1,810 were cloud-to-ground, with the remainder cloud-to-cloud.
The forecaster had earlier warned of “violent gusts” affecting the city, with winds of about 80km/h (50mph) recorded in Cheung Chau at around 10.10am.
The unsettled weather follows Friday’s heat, when temperatures rose to 34.6 degrees Celsius (94.3 Fahrenheit) at the Observatory’s headquarters in Tsim Sha Tsui, the highest recorded so far this year.