The Strong Wind Signal no. 3 was issued at 12:40 pm on Thursday as severe tropical storm Yutu edged closer to the coastal waters of eastern Guangdong.
The Hong Kong Observatory said that, as of 2 pm, Yutu was estimated to be about 340 kilometres southeast of Hong Kong and was predicted to cross the northeastern part of the South China Sea at about 12 kilometres per hour.
“With the combined effect of the northeast monsoon and Yutu, winds over the coast of eastern Guangdong are expected to strengthen gradually this afternoon and tonight,” the Observatory said.
The chance of issuing No. 8 Gale or Storm Signal was not high unless Yutu took on a track closer to the Pearl River Delta, the Observatory added.
The Standby Signal no. 1 was issued earlier on Wednesday morning.
Thursday and Friday are expected to be mainly cloudy, with sunny intervals on Thursday afternoon. Strong northerly winds, one or two showers and swells will also affect Hong Kong on Thursday.
The Observatory forecasted that, with the weakening and dissipating of Yutu, winds will moderate over the coast of Guangdong over the weekend. There will also be sunny periods over the weekend and early next week.
The Red Fire Danger Warning, indicating an extreme risk of fire, was also in effect.
