To Storm or Not to Storm?

I've been waiting for a typhoon -- or at least a tropical storm -- since we moved back to Asia. We missed one in Manila last year (it hit when we were apartment-hunting in Hong Kong, actually). We haven't had one yet in Hong Kong, but that might be about to change.

All day today, we've been watching Severe Tropical Storm Pabuk fly across the Taiwan Strait, lining up for a direct hit on Hong Kong. Now this is just about the best of all worlds: The storm isn't terribly strong, but with a direct hit of even a small storm, we're likely to get the day off. It's like having a snow day in Iowa, only warmer.

(Pabuk, by the way, is named for a kind of fish in Laos.)

The truth is, I'm spoiled when it comes to typhoons and tropical storms, because my first real typhoon or hurricane experience was with Supertyphoon Paka when I lived on Guam in December 1997. (Click that link, as it's actually pretty interesting reading.) Paka had sustained winds of 150 mph when it hit Guam, and one gust was measured at more than 230 mph, so it's been really hard for any storm since to live up to Paka.

Around 5:00 this morning, the Hong Kong Observatory hoisted typhoon signal number one, which means that a storm is within 800 km of Hong Kong and could affect us. The storm was tracking slightly north of Hong Kong and flying across the strait at 44 kph. If it had maintained its speed, it would have blown in overnight and been gone by morning, so we were quite happy when it suddenly slowed down to 20 kph and adjusted its course directly for Hong Kong. Remember: Small storm means not much damage, but direct hit means probably no work.

All afternoon, it continued its track towards Hong Kong. With its new, slower speed, getting the day off was looking better and better. We expected the winds to arrive any moment and, with them, the hoisting of signal number three, which means there are sustained gale force winds. But about 45 minutes ago, it started to weaken. It became Tropical Storm Pabuk. The Observatory says its future is now in question due to the influence of another tropical storm in the area.

After all the excitement today, it's looking more and more like I'll have to go to work tomorrow. And it will be just like waking up and discovering that the promised blizzard hadn't actually left any snow behind.