Typhoon Krovanh ... forecast to threaten Hong Kong on 23rd to 25th August 2003.

Current details for Tropical Cyclones around the world will be shown on the next line:

Typhoon Signal History:

Typhoon Signal Number One (Stand By) was hoisted at 09:30 HKT on 23rd August 2003.
Typhoon Signal Number Three (Strong Winds) was hoisted at 11:30 HKT on 24th August 2003.
All Typhoon Signals were lowered at 11:30 HKT on 25th August 2003.

Comments:

Weather enthusiasts here have been watching the system known as 12W for well over a week as it first formed, then dissipated causing JTWC to issue a Final Warning and then regenerated again.  By the evening of Thursday 21st August, JTWC were predicting a direct hit on Hong Kong.

As the system, now intensified to typhoon strength, crossed Northern Luzon, it veered a little to the left and, as at lunch time Saturday, is forecast to pass well South of Hong Kong on the afternoon of Sunday 24th August.

During the passage of Typhoon Krovanh past Hong Hong, there were no fatalities and only ten people were injured and hospitalised by typhoon-related incidents.

Report on Tubocat Journey during Typhoon Krovanh:

This is a belated report on my experiences on a Turbocat from Macau to HK on Sunday August 24 when Krovanh sideswiped HK to the SSW to SW. It just happened that I boarded the Turbocat ferry in Macau shortly before 5:15p.m. and made my journey in VERY ROUGH to HIGH seas back to HK. It was an extraordinary experience!

When the Turbocat left the Macau ferry pier at 5:15p.m. on Sunday, the captain made a rare announcement to warn passengers to be seated at all times and not to wander around because of the rough seas. Ten minutes later the boat ran into huge waves and swell from the SE. I immediately recalled my winter sailing experiences in Sai Kung some years ago in November when the NE monsoon reached Force 7-8 in ROUGH to VERY ROUGH SEAS just off the coast of Sai Wan in Sai Kung. That time we had to wear harnesses to ensure nobody would be tossed by the huge waves into the seas.

This time in contrast I was seated in a Turbocat in relative comfort, and from the windows on the right I could behold the ferocious, monstrous, and relentless swell from the SE. (I realized later that Krovanh was probably closest to HK at around 6p.m. on Sunday, SSW to SW of the territory.)

Half an hour later, passengers vomited one after another and the crew had to distribute additional bags to them. When the boat neared the coastal waters just south of Lantau Island, the waves and swell to my surprise grew even bigger. The boat slowed down a bit and was rocking from side to side in monstrous waves. Judging from my experiences, the seas were VERY ROUGH to HIGH at that time. (I validated this later at the South China Coastal Report for Hong and Adjacent Waters and found that my assumption was indeed correct.) Even though I was seated inside the cabin, I could still hear the ominous hissing sounds of the gales from the SE banging on the windows outside.

This is the first time I was on a ferry in VERY ROUGH to HIGH SEAS which are often associated with Force 8-9 winds (Gale Force). I could not imagine what it would be like if I encountered VERY HIGH or PHENOMENAL seas associated with Storm Force or Hurricane Force winds respectively. It is interesting to note that indeed watching waves in Shek O or Tai Long Beach and being on a boat in the midst of the ocean feels entirely different because of the sense of danger associated with high seas. Fortunately I knew that the Turbocat must have been designed to cruise in such conditions at that time, at least it could cruise in gale conditions, but not necessarily in hurricane conditions.

When the boat neared Cheung Chau, the winds and waves weakened noticeably and by the time the ferry reached the terminal in Sheung Wan, I realized that the usual 1 hour journey was delayed for almost half an hour.

Interestingly, my other friend who was traveling on the boat with me told me that he had experienced even rougher seas in the English Channel in the winter.

The above report was first published in the Weather Underground of Hong Kong English language Discussion Forum.

E-mail Reports:

From: "Phil Smith"
To: [snip]
Date: Sat, 23 Aug 2003 12:22:51 +0800
Subject: HK on Stand By for KROVANH

Hi All,
Typhoon Signal Number One (the "Stand By" Signal - meaning a Tropical Cyclone is within 800 km of HK and may affect us) was hoisted at 09:30 this morning HKT.
It is a sunny day here with a few cloud patches and a Northerly wind of 12.00 km/h.
A couple of days ago, the JTWC were predicting a near direct-hit on HK. However, now all agencies have forecast the storm to pass well to our South.
I am expecting lots of rain and some wind and possibly even the hoisting of Typhoon Signal Number Three.  But anything could happen between now and tomorrow evening.  
I have commenced a page at http://www.drdisk.com.hk/krovanh.htm to record details, but might delete it later if the passage of the storm proves to be a "non-event".
I shall keep the group posted if things get really "interesting".

Phil
<><

From: "Phil Smith"
To: [snip]
Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2003 14:02:12 +0800
Subject: Progress of Typhoon KROVANH

[snip]
In the early hours this morning I was awoken a few times between 04:00
and 05:30 by very loud Flangs of thunder and by the noise of driving
rain against the windows.  When I got up at around 08:00 it was fairly
fine and the weather had settled down.  A check of the animated satpic
showed a single isolated outer rainband crossing HK at about the time I
was awoken.
Typhoon Signal Number Three (Strong Winds) was hoisted at 11:30 HKT on
24th August 2003.  I was in church at the time.
As I walked home from church the first thing I noticed was one tree
blown down and a few temporary roadworks signs blown away from where
they ought to be.
As I crossed the river I observed white horses on the wave tops (this
river is normally like a mirror) and had to hang on to my hat as the NE
winds were very strong.
There is a huddle of about thirty boats anchored in the middle of the
river to seek shelter from the storm.
Immediately after I arrived home from church at about 13:30, it suddenly
became very dark outside, the driving rain began again and there were
some more loud Flangs as well as some more distant thunder.
The windspeed here has dropped down to 20km/h but Cheung Chau is
currently enjoying an average wind speed of 88km/h.
Looking at the animated satpic, there is a lot more heavy cloud headed
in this direction.
I shall keep everybody posted if things get more "exciting".

Phil
<><

From: "Phil Smith"
To: [snip]
Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2003 15:43:24 +0800
Subject: Typhoon Krovanh

Hi all.
The dregs of Krovanh are still buffeting HK as I type.
Last night we lost power for a while at home - most unusual for us in a
typhoon, especially as the wind was not too high at the time and power
reticulation in this country is all by subterranean cables - we have no
power poles or overhead wires.  I can only assume a substation was
flooded by the rain.
During the night we were woken again by thunder and driving rain as the
gusty winds pelted bucketfuls at our windows during the night.  Even in
the periods when the rain stopped the wind kept howling around the
balconies.
When I arose at 06:00 I looked out at the river and observed that while
it was not yet back to its normal mirror-like status, the white horses of
yesterday had all disappeared and the waves were barely bigger than
ripples.
When I caught the bus to work at about 07:30, the wind was calm, the rain
had stopped (although everything was still dripping) and the boats that
had sheltered in the river in front of our place were beginning to
disperse.
There are still gusts of wind now and the clouds continue to scud
overhead, but I think we can say that Krovanh has finished with HK.
All typhoon signals were lowered at 11:30 this morning HKT.

Phil
<><

HKO Records:

Graphs below were captured from the web pages of the Hong Kong Observatory and are Copyright (c) HK Observatory.

The graphs record weather changes in Sha Tin where I live.

24-hour Time Series of Air Temperature ___ and Relative Humidity ___

24-hour Time Series of Mean Sea Level Pressure

24-hour Time Series of 10-minute Mean Wind Direction

24-hour Time Series of 10-minute Mean Wind Speed

And a wind-speed graph for Cheung Chau:
24-hour Time Series of 10-minute Mean Wind Speed

The last set of graphs above will show the wind speed in Cheung Chau, which is an island in the South China Sea, and is much more exposed to high winds than the sheltered valley in which I live here in Sha Tin.

This page was last edited on 07/02/2008 at 09:16:32 HKT

23/08/2003

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