Typhoon Noul to come closest to Hong Kong late Saturday into Sunday

Forecaster says hot, sunny weather up to 34 degrees on Friday, with winds strengthening and showers increasing on Saturday as Typhoon Noul nears

Typhoon Noul is expected to come closest to Hong Kong between Saturday night and Sunday morning, according to the city’s weather forecaster, which is considering issuing the No 1 warning signal later on Friday.

The tropical storm near the Philippines was officially named Typhoon Noul. The name, provided by North Korea, means “glowing crimson skies”.

As of Friday morning, Noul was about 500km (310 miles) northeast of Manila and moving northwest at 26km/h (16mph), according to the latest track forecast.

“[Noul] is expected to move across the Luzon Strait and enter within 800km of Hong Kong later on Friday,” said Yeung Hon-yin, a senior scientific officer at the Hong Kong Observatory.

“At that point, the Observatory will consider issuing the No 1 typhoon signal.”

Yeung said the storm was forecast to reach the northeastern part of the South China Sea near the coast of eastern Guangdong over the weekend, when it would be closest to Hong Kong.