A powerful weather system moving across the Pearl River Delta has triggered emergency alerts in Shenzhen, bringing heavy downpours, gale-force winds, and potential hailstorms to the city and surrounding Guangdong province.
The Shenzhen Meteorological Bureau issued a city-wide yellow rainstorm warning at 11am today as a dense cluster of thunderclouds shifted eastward from the western side of the Pearl River Estuary.
Forecasters expect the city to face significant precipitation, with rainfall totals reaching between 30 and 50 millimeters within a brief two-to-three-hour window.
The alert level indicates that the entire city is now in a state of high readiness for flooding and lightning strikes.
Early signs of the storm's intensity were recorded earlier this morning in the Longgang and Longhua districts, where several neighborhoods experienced heavy rain starting around 9am.
Meteorological officials noted that an additional wave of thunderclouds originating near Jiangmen is currently approaching the city and is expected to have a direct impact around the midday period.
Residents have been warned to prepare for localized gusts of wind reaching up to Force 7.
The severe weather is part of a broader atmospheric disturbance affecting the southern regions of Guangdong province.
Regional weather experts have predicted that the southern municipalities will continue to face moderate to heavy rain, with some areas potentially seeing torrential downpours.
These storms are expected to be accompanied by even more extreme conditions, including short-lived gales ranging from Force 8 to 10—and in isolated cases up to Force 11—as well as the possibility of small hailstorms in certain southern localities.
Authorities are advising the public to stay indoors whenever possible and to exercise extreme caution if travel is necessary, particularly in low-lying areas prone to flash flooding.
The current alerts for lightning and rainstorms remain in effect as the weather system continues its progression across the region.
