Weather - again? surely not??

Yes indeed - more weather is happening. We are leaving the rainy season behind and entering...



...Typhoon and monsoon season - yippee.
Basically the difference is that we now have rain AND wind.
At least it is warm.

Yesterday as we were off to work for the last day of school for the summer, the T1 signal was hoisted. This means that a typhoon or tropical storm is on the way. It went to T3 at about 4pm. It never got stronger, though as it went by things were gusty and rainy.

So today we at are the Monsoon and Thunderstorm warning. In the UK windy and rainy doesn't sounds like much. So I wanted to try and give you a comparison to work with...



This is from the front page of the Hong Kong Observatory website - always worth a look - very interesting site altogether. It shows lots of rain over us and the warning indicators.
Clicking on the links would give you the warnings and I'll copy them in at the end of this post.

Here are the radar pics for rainfall over the last 30 mins or so...



We are sitting right under the orangey-pink bit in the middle. This means that the rain is falling at about 100mm/h or about 4 inches in an hour.
Drenched is not the word for it. We cannot go to the car on the drive without being totaly soaking. I know now why we have eyebrows - otherwise we'd spend a lot of time blind.

For someone who loves summer storms, lightening and thunder, this is as exciting as it gets. My little girlness comes to the front and I still "aaww" and "aahh". It amuses the kids I'm teaching.

Think I'll hibernate for a few more days...


What the warnings mean...
STRONG MONSOON SIGNAL

The Strong Monsoon Signal remains in force. Strong winds
with mean speed exceeding 40 kilometres per hour are
expected from the southwest. Gusts will occasionally reach
70 kilometres per hour.

1. If you are not well sheltered from the southwest, you
are advised to take precautions against strong gusty winds.
Flower pots and other objects likely to be blown away
should be taken indoors.

2. Drivers using highways and flyovers should be
particularly aware of strong gusts.

3. Those planning for water sports activities and
operations at sea should take special care against high
winds and rough sea conditions. Conditions are particularly
rough over the southern offshore waters.

DISPATCHED BY HONG KONG OBSERVATORY AT 11:44 HKT ON 27.06.2009

---

THUNDERSTORM WARNING

THUNDERSTORM WARNING

THUNDERSTORM WARNING ISSUED AT 10:05 A.M. ON 27 JUN 2009
HAS BEEN EXTENDED UNTIL 2:00 P.M. TODAY. OCCASIONAL SQUALLY
THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO OCCUR OVER HONG KONG.

GUSTS REACHING 70 KILOMETRES PER HOUR OR ABOVE MAY AFFECT
HONG KONG.

MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ARE ADVISED TO TAKE THE FOLLOWING
PRECAUTIONS WHEN THUNDERSTORMS OCCUR:

1. STAY INDOORS. SEEK SHELTER IN BUILDINGS IF YOU ARE
ENGAGING IN OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES.

2. DO NOT STAND ON HIGH GROUNDS. KEEP AWAY FROM HIGHLY
CONDUCTIVE OBJECTS, TREES OR MASTS.

3. TAKE PRECAUTIONS AGAINST VIOLENT GUSTS. BEWARE OF FLYING
DEBRIS AND FALLING OBJECTS.

4. DRIVERS USING HIGHWAYS AND FLYOVERS SHOULD REDUCE SPEED
TO BE ALERT TO VIOLENT GUSTS.

DISPATCHED BY HONG KONG OBSERVATORY AT 11:41 HKT ON 27.06.2009