Hong Kong Observatory issues hail warning, urges residents to seek shelter amid ‘violent’ winds
- Hail warning issued at 10pm, with concert at Central harbourfront cut short due to poor conditions
- Observatory also warns that ‘violent’ gusts of up to 100km/h (62mph) reported at Cheung Chau
The Hong Kong Observatory issued a hail warning on Tuesday and urged residents to seek shelter amid “violent” winds.
“Seek shelter immediately if you are outdoors,” it said.
A concert by Taiwanese band Mayday at the Central Harbourfront was cut short due to the poor weather, with the encore moved online and indoors.
The forecaster also said “violent” gusts of up to 100km/h (62mph) were reported at Cheung Chau at around 9.45pm.
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An amber rainstorm alert was issued at 9.30pm and cancelled at 11pm.
The Observatory said a trough of low pressure would bring heavy showers and squally thunderstorms to the coast of southern China, including Hong Kong on Wednesday while an easterly airstream would affect the coast of Guangdong in the following couple of days.
Hail is relatively rare in the city, occurring about once every one or two years, according to the Observatory. Between 2000 and 2023, Hong Kong recorded 14 days with hail.