Tropical Storm Goni, the western Pacific region’s seventh storm of the year, is headed for the Chinese mainland. Forecasters predict the storm will hit the Chinese mainland between 6 pm and 9 pm (GMT +8) on August 4. The storm will most likely make landfall south-east of Maoming in Guangdong Province. Tropical Storm Goni is expected to bring wind gusts of up to 74 kilometers per hour.
Nearby Shenzhen, Macau and Hong Kong will be on the periphery of Tropical Storm Goni and should expect rain and strong winds as the storm moves west through Guangdong and Guangxi provinces before weakening into a tropical depression.
Tropical Storm Morakot in the Western Pacific.
Official in Taiwan are watching Tropical Storm Morakot that formed earlier this week east of Taiwan. Taiwan has received less rain than usual this year and officials have said rationing may begin if the drought continues. The course of Tropical Storm Morakot is unclear. The storm’s heavy rainfall would be welcome in Taiwan. The storm is expected to affect Taiwan August 7 or 8.
Typhoon Molave, the season’s sixth storm is making its way toward the south China coast. Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Hong Kong can expect heavy rain and strong winds Saturday and Sunday.
With winds of 33 meters per second (119 kilometers an hour), the typhoon is heading northwestward at 25 kilometers per hour and expected make landfall between central Guangdong Province and southern Fujian Province.
Typhoon Molave is will bring torrential rains and gale-force winds to China’s coastal areas. The storm is expected to arrive between the evening of Saturday, July 18 and Sunday July 19.
This is my world at the moment, September 24, 2008:
A map of Typhoon Hagupit over south China
Yes, another Typhoon. I can’t complain, they canceled classes last evening because of the arrival of Typhoon Hagupit in Shenzhen. My team received an unexpected evening off. We were sitting at an outside cafe-esque establishment enjoying the wind and malty libations until the owner, fearing for the tent that covered the tables, closed up.
The Hong Kong Observatory issued the following warning:
Here is the latest Tropical Cyclone Bulletin issued by the Hong Kong Observatory.
The No. 8 Southeast Gale or Storm Signal is in force.
This means that winds with mean speeds of 63 kilometres per hour or more are expected from the southeast quarter.
At 3 a.m., Typhoon Hagupit was centred about 230 kilometres southwest of Hong Kong (near 21.1 degrees north 112.4 degrees east) and is forecast to move west or west-northwest at about 28 kilometres per hour heading towards the western coast of Guangdong.
Welcome, Mr/Ms Typhoon Hagupit. Please, stick around a few more hours (as long as you don’t bring much death and destruction). I could use a day off.
Nuri is the name of a species of blue parakeets native to Malaysia. This parakeet killed seven when it hit the Philippines earlier this week.
The 13th tropical storm of the season is about to slam into the Hong Kong/Shenzhen area of China. Much weakened, Tropical Storm Nuri (nee Typhoon Nuri) will boast winds of up to 73 miles per hour.
It’s been a bad year for tropical storms in the northern pacific. Typhoon Fengshen left 730 people dead and 637 missing on the island of Samar. Tropical Storm Kammuri killed 119 in Vietnam when it rolled through in early August. Forty died in China from the resulting floods.
Tropical Storm Nuri is expected to arrive early August 23, luckily, after the completion of the Olympic Equestrian events in Hong Kong. Kammuri disrupted the arrival of horses and athletes before the start of the games.
As I looked out the window early this morning (5:30 am GMT +8) the clouds were racing across the sky, strange and ominously shaped. A harbinger of things to come?
I’ll batten down the hatches, again. Just in time for the weekend…
