Report on Super Typhoon Yinxing (2422)
Super Typhoon Yinxing (2422)
3 – 12 November 2024
Yinxing was the fifth tropical cyclone affecting Hong Kong in 2024.
Yinxing formed as a tropical depression over the western North Pacific about 110 km southeast of Yap on the morning of 3 November. It moved west-northwestwards or northwestwards towards Luzon and intensified progressively into a typhoon in the following two days. It turned gradually to move westwards on 6 November and intensified into a super typhoon that night. Yinxing attained its peak intensity the next afternoon with an estimated maximum sustained wind of 220 km/h near its centre. It then moved across the northern tip of Luzon and weakened slightly into a severe typhoon in the small hours of 8 November. Yinxing tracked generally westwards across the northern part of the South China Sea and intensified again into a super typhoon on 9 November. It turned to move southwestwards over the seas southeast of Hainan Island and weakened rapidly in the following two days. Yinxing finally weakened into an area of low pressure over the coastal waters of central Vietnam on 12 November.
According to press reports, Yinxing caused one death, one missing and one injury during its passage over the northern part of the Philippines. More than 380 000 people were affected, over 28 000 houses were damaged and economic loss exceeded PHP 192 million.
The Standby Signal No. 1 was issued at 12:40 p.m. on 8 November, when Yinxing was about 600 km southeast of Hong Kong. Local winds were moderate to fresh north to northeasterlies, occasionally strong offshore and on high ground that afternoon and the next morning. As Yinxing continued to move westwards and edged closer to the coast of Guangdong, local winds strengthened gradually under the combined effect of Yinxing and the northeast monsoon. The No. 3 Strong Wind Signal was issued at 3:40 p.m. on 9 November when Yinxing was about 370 km south of Hong Kong. Yinxing came closest to Hong Kong at around 8 p.m. on 9 November, skirting past about 360 km south of the territory. Locally, strong east to northeasterlies prevailed over many places that night and the next morning, with gale force winds occasionally affecting offshore and high ground. With Yinxing departing from Hong Kong and weakening, local winds moderated gradually during the day that day. The No. 3 Strong Wind Signal was replaced by the Standby Signal No. 1 at 10:20 a.m. on 10 November and all tropical cyclone warning signals were cancelled at 3:20 p.m. that day.
Yinxing did not cause any significant damage in Hong Kong during its passage. Under the influence of Yinxing, a maximum sea level (above chart datum) of 2.77 m was recorded at Tsim Bei Tsui and a maximum storm surge (above astronomical tide) of 0.60 m was recorded at Tai Po Kau. At the Observatory Headquarters, the lowest instantaneous mean sea-level pressure of 1012.3 hPa was recorded at 2:49 p.m. on 9 November.
While the weather of Hong Kong was fine and dry during the day on 8 November, it turned cloudy with isolated showers at night with the approach of Yinxing. Under the combined effect of the northeast monsoon and Yinxing, the weather of Hong Kong was mainly cloudy with a few showers on 9 – 10 November.