Rain, thunderstorms to hit Hong Kong in coming days under ‘active’ southwest monsoon

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Hong Kongers can expect rain and thunderstorms over the coming days under an active southwest monsoon and a broad trough of low pressure, the city’s weather forecaster has said.

“A broad trough of low pressure will bring heavy showers to the northern part of the South China Sea and the coast of southern China in the following couple of days,” the Hong Kong Observatory said on Friday in its nine-day forecast.

“The trough of low pressure is expected to linger over the northern part of the South China Sea midweek next week.”

An active southwest monsoon would also bring showers and a few squally thunderstorms to the coast of Guangdong on Saturday, it added.

Hong Kong is expected to stay wet, with occasional showers and a few thunderstorms from now until next Friday, August 2. But there will be sunny intervals starting August 2, according to the observatory.

Maximum temperatures will drop slightly to about 30 degrees Celsius or 31 degrees during the rainy days.

But hot weather will follow afterwards, with the mercury climbing up again to reach 33 degrees from August 3.

An area of ​​low pressure now bringing unsettled weather to the seas east of the Philippines will be developing in the next few days and it is expected to move towards the vicinity of Luzon Strait to Taiwan, according to the Observatory.

Meanwhile, severe tropical storm Gaemi has weakened into a tropical storm after making landfall in mainland China. At 4pm, it was centered about 200km (124 miles) east-southeast of Nanchang, Jiangxi province.

“It is forecast to move northwest at about 15km/h (9mph) into Jiangxi and weaken further,” said the Observatory in its latest weather bulletin.

Gaemi had wreaked havoc in Taiwan and the Philippines, causing widespread flooding and landslides, killing at least 21 people.