Enhanced Tropical Cyclone Information Service

The Hong Kong Observatory has enhanced its tropical cyclone information service this summer. The tropical cyclone warning for shipping is now available in Chinese and the tropical cyclone track on the Observatory's website is updated hourly.

Beginning this month (August), the update frequency of tropical cyclone track on the website will increase from every three hours to every hour whenever the Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 3 or above is in force. This is to make it easier for members of the public to obtain updated information on the intensity and movement of the tropical cyclone (see Figure 1 for a sample of the hourly tropical cyclone track).

The Observatory has been issuing tropical cyclone warning for shipping since the early 1950s. The warning bulletin provides mariners with a wide range of tropical cyclone information, including analysis and forecast of the location, intensity and movement of the tropical cyclone as well as wind and wave information in its vicinity. Hitherto the tropical cyclone warning for shipping is issued only in English. Starting from this month the Chinese version of the shipping warning is also available from the Observatory's website once every three hours for use by personnel of shipping companies, mariners and members of the public who operate in Chinese. Figure 2 shows a sample of the shipping warning in Chinese.

The public can get the tropical cyclone track and Chinese version of the tropical cyclone warning for shipping on the Observatory's website via the following links whenever there is a tropical cyclone in the vicinity of Hong Kong:

Tropical cyclone track:
http://www.weather.gov.hk/wxinfo/currwx/tc_pos.htm;

Tropical cyclone warning for shipping (Chinese version):
http://www.weather.gov.hk/wxinfo/currwx/tcswarnc.htm.

Figure 1. A sample of hourly tropical cyclone track.

Figure 2. A sample of the Chinese version of the tropical cyclone warning for shipping.