Report on Typhoon Talim (2304)

Typhoon Talim (2304)
14 - 19 July 2023

Talim was the first tropical cyclone affecting Hong Kong in 2023. The Observatory issued the first No. 8 Gale or Storm Signal in 2023 during the passage of Talim.

Talim formed as a tropical depression over the central part of the South China Sea about 490 km southeast of Dongsha on the morning of 14 July. It moved westwards at first and intensified gradually. Talim intensified into a tropical storm and entered the northern part of the South China Sea the next day. Talim turned to move west-northwestwards that night and continued to edge towards the coast of western Guangdong. Talim intensified further into a typhoon on the night of 16 July and attained its peak intensity with an estimated maximum sustained wind of 140 km/h near its centre on the morning of 17 July. Talim made landfall near Zhanjiang, Guangdong that night, and moved across Leizhou Peninsula and Beibu Wan the next morning. It moved into inland Guangxi on 18 July and degenerated into an area of low pressure over the northern part of Vietnam the next morning.

According to press reports, one person was injured when Talim affected Macao. There were also 30 incident reports, including fallen trees and scaffoldings. Besides, Talim also brought torrential rain and squalls to many places in Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan.

The Standby Signal No. 1 was issued at 4:40 a.m. on 15 July, when Talim was about 680 km southeast of Hong Kong. Local winds were light to moderate northeasterlies that day. With Talim edging closer to the coast of Guangdong, the No. 3 Strong Wind Signal was issued at 5:40 a.m. on 16 July, when Talim was about 450 km southeast of Hong Kong. Winds over Hong Kong strengthened significantly and were generally strong east to northeasterlies that day, occasionally reaching gale offshore and on high ground.

As Talim was expected to continue to strengthen and move closer to the Pearl River Estuary with its associated gale force winds affecting the territory, the No. 8 Northeast Gale or Storm Signal was issued at 12:40 a.m. on 17 July when Talim was about 280 km south of Hong Kong. With Talim moving to the southwest of Hong Kong, local winds veered to east to southeasterlies. The No. 8 Southeast Gale or Storm Signal was issued at 6:40 a.m. that day. Locally, winds strengthened further to generally strong to gale with winds on high ground even reaching storm force.

Talim came closest to Hong Kong at around 9 a.m. on 17 July, when it skirted past about 250 km south-southwest of the territory. With Talim departing from the territory, local winds moderated gradually later that day and the next day. The No. 8 Southeast Gale or Storm Signal was replaced by the No. 3 Strong Wind Signal at 4:20 p.m. on 17 July. As Talim weakened over inland and moved further away from Hong Kong, the No. 3 Strong Wind Signal was replaced by the No.1 Standby Signal at 2:40 am on 18 July and all tropical cyclone warning signals were cancelled at 8:40 a.m. on that day. However, strong winds from the southeast still affected the offshore waters and high ground of the territory at first. The Strong Monsoon Signal was issued immediately afterwards at 8:41 a.m. and cancelled at 2:40 p.m. that day.

Under the influence of Talim, maximum hourly mean winds of 107, 81 and 75 km/h and gusts of 140, 120 and 96 km/h were recorded at Ngong Ping, Cheung Chau and Waglan Island respectively. A maximum sea level (above chart datum) of 3.23 m was recorded at Tsim Bei Tsui and a maximum storm surge (above astronomical tide) of 0.73 m was recorded at Tai Po Kau. The lowest instantaneous mean sea-level pressures recorded at some selected stations are as follows:

Under the influence of the outer subsiding air of Talim and the local light wind condition, it was mainly fine and extremely hot in Hong Kong on 15 July. Squally thunderstorms triggered by high temperatures also affected parts of the territory later that day. There were occasional squally showers and thunderstorms on 16 July. The outer rainbands of Talim brought occasional heavy squally showers to Hong Kong on 17 – 18 July. More than 40 millimetres of rainfall were generally recorded over most parts of the territory on these two days and rainfall even exceeded 90 millimetres in parts of Tai Po and North Districts.

In Hong Kong, there were 539 reports of fallen trees and two reports of flooding during the passage of Talim. A woman was hit by a fallen tree at South Bay Beach. A total of nine people were injured during the passage of Talim. Eight flights were diverted at the Hong Kong International Airport.