The Hong Kong Observatory may issue the No 1 standby signal as early as Friday as typhoon Yinxing intensified gradually into a super typhoon on Wednesday.
The weather forecaster on Thursday said Yinxing was expected to enter within 800km (497 miles) of Hong Kong between tonight and Friday morning and move westwards across the northern part of the South China Sea.
“Depending on the distance between Yinxing and the Pearl River Estuary, its change in intensity and the change in local wind conditions, the Observatory will assess the need of issuing the standby signal, No 1 later tomorrow to early Saturday,” the Observatory said.
Yinxing, which means ginkgo seeds in Chinese, intensified gradually into a super typhoon on Wednesday.
The Observatory said under the influence of the northeast monsoon, there were uncertainties in Yinxing’s movement and intensity after entering the South China Sea.
Despite the typhoon’s relatively small circulation, the forecaster said it would be windy over the waters and high ground of the southern China coast over the weekend under the combined effect of the northeast monsoon and Yinxing.
