The Hong Kong Observatory will issue the No 3 signal at 3.40pm on Saturday as Super Typhoon Yinxing edges closer to the coast of southern China, forcing the cancellation of a cross-harbour swimming race.
The forecaster said the warning signal might remain in force until Sunday morning, with Yinxing expected to skirt more than about 300km (186 miles) to the south of Hong Kong.
Yinxing, which means “ginkgo seeds” in Chinese, has intensified from a severe typhoon into a super typhoon.
“Yinxing maintained its super typhoon intensity and started to adopt a more northwesterly track this morning, gradually edging closer to the coast of southern China. Its outer rainbands also started to affect the coast of Guangdong,” the Observatory said.
It also said that under the combined effect of Yinxing and the northeast monsoon, the associated strong winds would gradually affect the vicinity of the Pearl River Estuary.