If you’re hearing but a whisper of the wind outside, it’s not just you.
Hong Kong Observatory issued the No. 8 typhoon signal just before sunrise on Tuesday when it was around 440 kilometers from the city. This makes tropical storm Nangka the farthest No. 8 typhoon from Hong Kong in 60 years, according to HK01.
Tropical storms are typically much closer to the city—around 200 kilometers, though the range is fairly large—when the observatory raises the No. 8 typhoon signal. In August, when the observatory issued the signal as Typhoon Higos approached, the storm was 140 kilometers west of Hong Kong.
The observatory explained that it had hoisted the No. 8 signal for Nangka because even though the storm is gradually moving away, the combined effect with the northeast monsoon means local winds are still expected to strengthen further. Still, the weather remained calm into the late morning, with Nangka around 480 kilometers south-southwest of Hong Kong at 11am.
The No. 3 signal was raised yesterday evening. The storm is headed in the direction of Hainan Island, bringing showers to the Guangdong coast. This is the second time this year that a No. 8 typhoon has struck Hong Kong.
Authorities announced the suspension of classes at day schools in the morning. But in the coronavirus era, typhoon signal No. 8—or T8—days are no longer synonymous with a holiday, with office workers who have shifted to working from home logging in from their laptops as usual.
Read more: Hong Kong’s typhoon days no longer de facto holiday in work-from-home era
The weather has cooled pleasantly in Hong Kong in the past weeks with temperatures averaging around 25 degrees Celsius in the day, a welcoming reprieve from the sweltering and humid summer.
According to the forecast, rainfall is expected over the next few days, but the skies will clear in time for the weekend.
There remains a threat of gale force winds to Hong Kong for a period of time, the observatory states, and the No. 8 signal is likely to be in force for most of Tuesday.
