Tropical cyclone may approach HK around June 13, observatory says

A tropical cyclone may move close to Hong Kong around June 13, according to the Hong Kong Observatory.

The city’s weather watchdog predicts a broad area of low pressure will develop near Luzon over the weekend and into early next week, though its intensity and path remain highly uncertain. 

The system could enter the South China Sea and move toward southern China by mid- to late next week, or it may turn toward Taiwan in the Northwest Pacific.

According to the Observatory’s Pangu artificial intelligence model, the tropical cyclone is expected to form in the South China Sea around early next week (June 10) and gradually move north, coming closest to Hong Kong by next Friday (June 13). 

Another AI model, Fuxi, shows a similar track but predicts a weaker and more loosely organized system, also approaching the city around June 13.

However, forecasts from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and the US Global Forecast System differ significantly, suggesting the cyclone could hit Taiwan between next Wednesday and Thursday instead of Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, the Observatory’s nine-day forecast indicates that the easterly winds affecting Guangdong’s coast will shift to southerly flow in the next day or two. 

Under the influence of an upper-air anticyclone, southern China will see generally fine and hot weather over the weekend and early next week.

From June 12 to 14, conditions are expected to turn mostly cloudy with scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms.

(Ayra Wang)