Typhoon Nuri Closes in on Hong Kong

We're currently in a T9 warning here in Hong Kong, and we're planning for a direct hit by Typhoon Nuri sometime in the next hour. The center is currently 20 km southeast of Hong Kong, and is heading northwest at about 14 km/hour. For the weather geek who sometimes reads my blog, you can find a history of the typhoon warning system in Hong Kong here.


(We're the "*" that is practically underneath the typhoon.)

It hasn't been too bad yet, at least from my 8th floor vantage point. I went out around noon for an hour's walk and found Wan Chai nearly deserted. 7-11 was open, as was the supermarket and a few restaurants. You would never believe this was Wan Chai at noon on a Friday. This neighbourhood is one of Hong Kong's busiest, with a dense mix of retail, commercial and residential buildings. Buses and trams have stopped running, there is hardly anyone on the streets, and there are just a few taxis around.



It's gotten darker in the 3.5 hours since then, and I'm thinking it's about time to wander back downstairs and see how windy it is. I came back soaked last time, and it really wasn't even raining that hard. But I think that will change as the day goes on, at least looking at the radar. It does appear that the worst part of this typhoon is yet to come, after the eye passes.

Hong Kong is at the center of this screen shot, which was taken a bit after 3 this afternoon. The satellite image doesn't show this typhoon as having a well-formed eye, so I probably won't get to go outside during the eye passage to look up at a clear sky, as I did when Supertyphoon Paka hit Guam in 1997.