Amber rainstorm warning issued as heavy showers hit Hong Kong
subscribing . New users who
download our updated app get a seven-day free trial.
Hong Kong's weather forecaster has issued an amber rainstorm signal, warning that flash floods may hit some low-lying and poorly drained areas.
The Hong Kong Observatory raised the warning at 7.30am on Tuesday, which means heavy rain exceeding 30 millimetres has fallen or is expected to fall across the city.
'Heavy rain may bring about flash floods. People should stay away from watercourses. People who are likely to be affected by flooding should take necessary precautions to avoid losses,' it said.
The area of intense thundery showers associated with an active southwesterly airstream is affecting the vicinity of the Pearl River Estuary, according to the Observatory.
More than 20 millimetres of rainfall were recorded over Hong Kong's New Territories in the morning. Over 50 millimetres, meanwhile, were recorded over Shenzhen and even exceeded 150 millimetres over Zhongshan and Zhuhai.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
HKFP
39 minutes ago
- HKFP
Hong Kong Observatory looks to expand use of AI forecasting models for extreme weather prediction
The Hong Kong Observatory is considering expanding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) forecasting models to predict extreme weather conditions, a meteorologist has said, after the models predicted Tuesday's torrential rain. The Observatory's acting senior scientific officer He Yuheng said on Friday that the AI models predicted a week in advance the movement of a westward rainband that affected the coast of Guangdong province last weekend and triggered a black rainstorm warning on Tuesday. Speaking on RTHK on Friday, He said that rainfall and rain distribution forecasts made with AI prediction tools might not be fully accurate but would still help the Observatory make predictions earlier. The meteorologist's remarks come after Hong Kong recorded 358.8 millimetres of rainfall at its Tsim Sha Tsui headquarters at 5pm on Tuesday, marking the highest daily rainfall in August since records began in 1884. The Tuesday rainstorm marked the fourth time the black rainstorm signal, the city's highest rain warning, was hoisted this year – all in a week. The Hong Kong Observatory raised the black rainstorm signal twice within six hours earlier this week: first at 11.45pm on Monday, before lowering it to the red rainstorm warning at 2.10am on Tuesday, then again, more than three hours later, at 5:50am. The second black rainstorm signal lasted more than 11 hours, causing widespread flooding across the city. The Observatory began using AI models on a trial basis in mid-2023, He said. Now, AI models are just as capable, if not more so, than conventional methods for predicting large-scale meteorological patterns, including the area or intensity of an anticyclone aloft or subtropical ridge, he said. The Observatory's use of AI is still at a 'preliminary stage,' but AI models 'have reached – or even slightly surpassed – the level of conventional methods,' the meteorologist said. He also said that AI models boasted a smaller margin of error between 300 to 500 kilometres, when producing five-day forecasts of tropical cyclone paths, compared with the 500 to 800 kilometres for traditional models. Predicting the intensity of typhoons, however, was a weak point of AI models, He said. Meanwhile, a major road in the New Territories damaged by a landslide triggered by Tuesday's downpour has been partially reopened. The Highways Department announced on Thursday evening that a single lane of Bride's Pool Road was back in service for two-way traffic.
South China Morning Post
12 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong Observatory to enhance AI models after record-breaking downpours
The Hong Kong Observatory has pledged to further develop its artificial intelligence forecasting models to better predict typhoons and rainstorms after producing useful information before the record-breaking downpours earlier this week. Advertisement He Yuheng, acting senior scientific officer at the Hong Kong Observatory, said on Friday that the models successfully predicted the development of a rainband that brought heavy rain to parts of the Guangdong coast, a week before Tuesday's torrential downpour, which led to the city's second-longest black rainstorm warning. On that day, the forecaster measured 358.8mm (14.1 inches) of rainfall at its headquarters in Tsim Sha Tsui as of 5pm, the highest daily rainfall in August since records began in 1884. 'If we look back, one week before Tuesday, we already have several artificial intelligence models that have started capturing the progress of the particularly heavy rain this time,' he said on a radio programme. 'They forecast that there would be a rainband moving from the east to the west, which would affect the coast of Guangdong. It also predicted that some parts of the coast of Guangdong would have a very large amount of accumulated rainfall during 24 hours.' Advertisement But he noted that the models were not completely accurate in pinpointing where the rain would fall. However, it still provided a valuable basis for the Tuesday rainstorm forecast.
RTHK
13 hours ago
- RTHK
AI 'predicts weather better than conventional ways'
AI 'predicts weather better than conventional ways' He Yuheng says some AI weather predictions are as good as - if not better than - conventional methods. Photo: RTHK The Hong Kong Observatory said on Friday that weather predictions carried out using artificial intelligence have surpassed conventional methods, and helped it to carry out early forecasts. Speaking on an RTHK radio programme, acting senior scientific officer He Yuheng said a week prior to the downpours that lashed the SAR on Tuesday, some AI models had already forecast that there would be an east-to-west rainband affecting Guangdong. Even though rainfall distributions predicted by AI might not be too accurate, He said, they have allowed the observatory to conduct predictions earlier to a certain extent and inform the public sooner about unstable weather conditions. He said that when the observatory began using AI in mid-2023, the models only offered limited predictions for meteorological elements such as temperatures and humidity levels. Now it can directly predict rainfall without analysing other parameters. AI models can even better predict the weather than conventional methods, he said. "At least for now, if we talk about AI models' performance on the medium-range weather forecasts of large-scale meteorological patterns for the next 10 days, they have reached – or even slightly exceeded – the level of conventional methods," He said. "For example, on the location and change in intensity for an anticyclone aloft and subtropical ridge of high pressure, AI is better." However, He said AI models are unable to forecast the intensity of strong typhoons for now, while other AI-based predictions must be verified manually. As for the coming days, He said an area of low pressure over the northeastern part of the South China Sea could bring showers to the SAR early next week. The observatory expects another area of low pressure that has developed into a tropical cyclone north of Guam to move westward towards Taiwan.
