Tropical cyclone "Lionrock" to develop this Thursday

A low pressure zone is expected to develop into a tropical cyclone this Thursday, and would be named “Lionrock” after Hong Kong's iconic mountain.

A broad area of low pressure over the southern part of the South China Sea is forecast to develop into a tropical cyclone, and edge closer to the vicinity of Guangdong's western coast and Hainan island, Hong Kong's observatory predicted.

Its counterpart in Taiwan forecasts that the tropical cyclone could develop as soon as the early hours of Thursday.

As different regions contributed names for cyclones, the next name to be picked is “Lionrock.” The name is contributed by Hong Kong for western north Pacific and South China Sea cyclones, and refers to the 498-meter Lion Rock mountain.

According to local forecasts, there will be strong wind and thunderstorms from Friday. On Saturday, wind force will reach a range of 5 to 6, and even 7 offshore. Such wind will reach the level of tropical cyclone warning signal number three, which means strong wind blowing with a sustained speed of 41 to 62 kilometers per hour.

It will be cloudy with heavy rain, squalls and thunderstorms. Seas will be rough with swells.