Storm signal may be raised as Saola looms

A tropical cyclone warning may be issued in the next few days as super typhoon Saola was forecast to skirt past the SAR on Saturday.

"According to the present forecast track, Saola will enter within 800 kilometers of Hong Kong in the next couple of days and will move toward the coastal area of eastern Guangdong to southern Fujian," the Hong Kong Observatory said.

"As Saola may interact with Tropical Cyclone Haikui located to its east, the subsequent movement of Saola has a rather high uncertainty. It may move westwards along the coastal waters of Guangdong or weaken over the inland areas of southeastern China."

Saola will enter within 400km of Hong Kong on Friday and will make its closest approach the next day and skirt past the city from 70km away, according to the observatory.

The outer subsiding air of Saola will bring hot weather to southern China in the next couple of days, with big temperature differences between day and night.

Under the influence of Saola, there will also be strong winds and a few showers along the eastern coast of Guangdong near the end of the week.

The China Meteorological Administration predicted that Saola will enter the northeastern part of the South China Sea tomorrow morning and gradually approach the coast of eastern Guangdong to southern Fujian. It may make landfall on the coast of eastern Guangdong between Friday evening and Saturday morning.

At 7pm yesterday, Saola was centered about 470 km southeast of Gaoxiong, Taiwan, and forecast to move northwest at about 12 kilometers per hour across the Luzon Strait.

The super typhoon has caused flooding in the northern part of the Philippines in the past few days, forcing the evacuation of almost 25,000 people to safer ground.

At least 14 domestic flights were canceled, while some schools were shut yesterday - the first day of the school year in the Southeast Asian nation.

The heavy rainfall from Saola added to the southwest monsoon, which has affected 64,000 people in 21 provinces, according to the country's disaster management agency.

The Philippines raised the third-highest wind signal over its northeastern islands - warning of strong winds and power disruptions, the state weather bureau Pagasa said at 2pm yesterday.

Saola is forecast to "persist in strength" by the time it passes very close or over the Philippines' northernmost Batanes province, according to Pagasa. It may then weaken, though Pagasa didn't rule out the chance of the storm "re-intensifying into a super typhoon."

stacy.shi@singtaonewscorp.com