Observatory launches Pearl River Delta region rainfall nowcast product

The Hong Kong Observatory today (October 8) launched a computer-generated "Pearl River Delta region rainfall nowcast product" on its website.

Through the display of geospatial information, the new product presents the evolution of rainfall distribution over the Pearl River Delta region, including Hong Kong, within the following two hours, providing quantified and graphical rainfall forecast information for reference by people travelling to and from Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong.

Through information display software that can be downloaded from the Internet, users can zoom-in, zoom-out, configure panoramic view and animate the forecast maps of rainfall distribution. This enables the users to appreciate the spatial coverage and the movement trends of the rain areas, as well as the expected rainfall.

The nowcast product is generated automatically by the SWIRLS (Short-range Warning of Intense Rainstorms in Localized Systems), a nowcast system developed in-house by the Observatory, without any manual adjustment. The main purpose is to provide the latest available information for users' preliminary reference. For taking precautionary action against inclement weather, people are reminded to refer to the latest weather forecasts and warnings issued by the Hong Kong Observatory and the respective meteorological services in Guangdong and Macau as the authoritative sources.

The new service is available at (http://www.weather.gov.hk/nowcast/prd/index.htm ). Comments from users are welcome.