Tropical Storm VongFong (20W) {0214} threatens Hong Kong from 17th to 20th August 2002

Current world-wide storm details will be shown below this line:

Signal History:
Typhoon Signal number One (Stand By) was hoisted at 22:45 HKT on 17th August 2002.
All Hong Kong Typhoon Signals were lowered at 06:30 HKT on 20th August 2002.
The Strong Monsoon Signal was hoisted at 08:25 HKT on 20th August 2002.
The Strong Monsoon Signal was lowered at 09:50 HKT on 20th August 2002.

Reports (all times shown are Hong Kong Time UTC+8 unless stated otherwise):

From: "Phil Smith"
To: "_Cyclone Chat Group"
Date: Sun, 18 Aug 2002 21:56:51 +0800
Subject: Report on Tropical Storm VongFong

It's been hard to know when to start reports on this storm.  It has been brewing as a Tropical Depression just over 800 km south of here for many days.  In fact JMA have kept the identity as the same system which was earlier classified by JTWC as 18W and by PAGASA as Milenyo.
On Saturday 17th I spent a few hours at a barbecue on the South side of Hong Kong Island in a house at Tai Tam facing South across the water.  By about 18:00 there were gusts at that particular location that were wild enough to remove full unopened cans of coke off the table and to necessitate the furling of the heavyweight shade umbrellas before they suffered damage.
There were a couple of good squalls with lightning and rain and some still periods in between.  While driving home around 22:00 there were twigs and leaves stripped from the trees lying on the road and the car was frequently buffeted sideways on the road.
At 22:45 Typhoon Signal Number One (Stand By) was hoisted by the observatory.
Today, Sunday 18th August has been pretty unremarkable.  As each heavy outer cloudband came over, say every few hours it would get very dark even though it was daylight.  Some but not all of the street lights came on a couple of times.  Some of the cloudbands brought rainy squalls and some didn't.
There were brief periods of winds strong enough to set whole trees swaying, but there were quieter times in between.
At about 16:00 today the rain was so heavy it limited visibility to about 250 metres, but it only lasted half an hour.
Tonight there is rapid movement of low clouds from North East to South West.
No rain at the moment (20:15) but the wind is noisy enough to rattle anything not tied down.
Back to the computer after dinner ...

Here is a copy of the current observations at all stations in HK:

Date/Time: 18/8/2002 21:30
Station        Temp RH   Max/Min  Dir/Speed Barometer HI
               (C)  (%)    (C)      (km/h)   (hPa)     (C)
----------------------------------------------------------
HK Observatory 26.5  87 28.5/25.6 ---/----- 1002.8  
King's Park    25.7  88 ----/---- E  / 16.6 1002.2  
Wong Chuk Hang 26.5  85 29.0/25.5 E  / 27.0 ------  
Ta Kwu Ling    25.2  98 28.6/24.7 E  / 16.0 1003.0  
Lau Fau Shan   25.0  95 28.4/24.8 E  / 18.0 1002.7  
Tai Po         27.8  80 30.0/26.4 ---/----- 1003.0  
Sha Tin        27.4  78 29.8/25.9 N  / 14.0 1003.1  
Tuen Mun       26.7  82 29.0/25.4 VRB/  5.0 ------   
Tseung Kwan O  25.9  91 28.3/25.1 N  / 10.0 ------  
Sai Kung       25.7  93 27.6/24.1 N  / 28.0 ------   
Cheung Chau    25.1  90 28.2/24.3 E  / 39.0 1002.3  
Chek Lap Kok   27.1  81 29.9/25.8 E  / 33.0 1002.2  
Tsing Yi       26.2  82 27.9/25.2 E  / 27.0 ------   
Shek Kong      ---- --- ----/---- ---/----- ------   

And here is the report from the HKO:

Bulletin issued at 20:59 HKT 18/Aug/2002
TROPICAL CYCLONE BULLETIN

Here is the latest Tropical Cyclone Advisory Bulletin
issued by the Hong Kong Observatory.

A Tropical Cyclone Alert is now in effect and the Standby Signal,
No. 1 has been issued.

This means that a tropical cyclone now centred within about 800
kilometres of Hong Kong may affect us.

At 9 p.m., Tropical Storm Vongfong was centred about 630
kilometres south-southwest of Hong Kong (near 17.0 degrees
north 112.0 degrees east). It is forecast to intensify
gradually and move north-northwest at about 8 kilometres per
hour towards the western part of Guangdong.

In the past few hours, winds in Hong Kong strengthened
slightly. There will be a threat of strong winds in the
Victoria Harbour later. The Hong Kong Observatory may
consider issuing the Strong Wind Signal Number 3 tonight or
tomorrow morning.

Under the influence of the outer circulation of Vongfong, winds are
strong offshore and on high ground in Hong Kong. The gusts over the
sea area south of Lantau Island  even reached gale force occasionally.

As seas are rough with swells, you are advised to stay away
from the shoreline and not to engage in water sports.

According to the present forecast track, Vongfong will edge
closer to the western part of Guangdong gradually. Locally,
there will be heavy rain with squalls in the next couple of
days.

(Precautionary Announcements with No. 1 Signal)
(1)
Some precautions against damage should be taken, gutters and
drains should be cleared of obstructions. Hinges, bolts, locks
and shutters of windows and doors should be checked.
(2)
People living in wooden huts and in low-lying areas should take
necessary precautions against strong winds and flooding.
(3)
Listen to your radio or watch your TV for further weather
information.
I have also commenced a page for this storm at
http://www.drdisk.com.hk/vongfong.htm where I shall upload any
interesting captures in the next couple of days as the storm approaches
and passes.
Phil
<><

From: "Phil Smith"
To: "_Cyclone Chat Group"
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 2002 05:45:43 +0800
Subject: Monday morning report on TS VongFong

A quiet night.  Wind seems to be more Easterly but is quite variable in direction. Heavy overcast.
The 10-minute mean wind speed at Cheung Chau is currently 56 km/h.  At 19:50 last night, Cheung Chau was recording a mean wind speed of 69 km/h.

Obs from HK stations:
Date/Time: 19/8/2002 05:20
Station        Temp RH   Max/Min  Dir/Speed Barometer HI
               (C)  (%)    (C)      (km/h)   (hPa)     (C)
----------------------------------------------------------
HK Observatory 27.2  89 27.3/26.1 ---/----- 1001.7  
King's Park    26.8  85 ----/---- E  / 19.4 1001.2  
Wong Chuk Hang 27.6  82 27.6/26.6 E  / 24.0 ------  
Ta Kwu Ling    25.8  96 26.5/25.4 E  / 18.0 1001.6  
Lau Fau Shan   26.3  87 26.3/24.7 E  / 11.0 1001.4  
Tai Po         28.3  75 28.3/26.7 ---/----- 1001.6    32.0
Sha Tin        27.4  85 27.8/26.5 VRB/ 10.0 1001.9   
Tuen Mun       27.5  83 27.5/26.3 S  / 14.0 ------   
Tseung Kwan O  27.2  88 27.2/26.5 VRB/ 12.0 ------  
Sai Kung       26.4  92 26.5/25.8 E  / 17.0 ------   
Cheung Chau    25.5  95 25.6/25.3 E  / 56.0 1001.1  
Chek Lap Kok   27.5  83 28.0/26.8 S  / 25.0 1001.1  
Tsing Yi       26.6  85 26.7/25.8 S  /----- ------   
Shek Kong      ---- --- ----/---- ---/----- ------   

VongFong is 589 km SSW of here at 05:00.  The HKO warning is much the same as the one I included in last night's report.  As I am typing, I can hear some much stronger gusts up here than the 10 km/h recorded by the AWS down in the valley.  Tree movement suggests the latest gusts are coming from the South.

Phil
<><

From: "Phil Smith"
To: "_Cyclone Chat Group"
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 2002 21:53:15 +0800
Subject: Monday night report on STS VongFong

The day has seen mainly noisy winds all day in the places where I have
been: Kowloon City all morning, Fo Tan all afternoon, Hong Kong Island
all evening. It has peaked at 60 km/h many times today at Cheung Chau,
but elsewhere has been well below gale force.
Rain has fallen on and off all day in many short brief spurts with short
times of no rain in between.  There have also been some lengthy dry
spells for a couple of hours at a time.
I have just been checking out the 24 hour graph of 10-minute mean wind
speed for the local HKO AWS and it shows the wind a few times averaging
24 km/h but generally between 15 and 22 km/h. I have to say it sounds
much higher than that outside my flat for the last hour or so.
Here are the 21:40 obs for the various stations:

Date/Time: 19/8/2002 21:40
Station        Temp RH   Max/Min  Dir/Speed Barometer HI
               (C)  (%)    (C)      (km/h)   (hPa)     (C)
----------------------------------------------------------
HK Observatory 27.6  85 28.3/25.7 ---/----- 1004.5  
King's Park    26.9  90 ----/---- E  / 19.8 1004.2  
Wong Chuk Hang 28.2  82 28.7/25.8 S  / 23.0 ------    32.9
Ta Kwu Ling    26.6  94 30.0/25.3 S  / 20.0 1004.1  
Lau Fau Shan   27.1  82 29.0/24.0 S  / 18.0 1004.1  
Tai Po         28.5  77 29.3/26.4 ---/----- 1004.4    32.8
Sha Tin        28.5  78 28.8/26.1 S  / 15.0 1004.9    33.0
Tuen Mun       24.9 100 29.0/23.6 S  / 18.0 ------   
Tseung Kwan O  27.8  87 28.1/25.9 E  / 14.0 ------  
Sai Kung       27.1  90 27.8/24.7 S  / 33.0 ------   
Cheung Chau    25.6  96 28.1/24.5 S  / 51.0 1004.2  
Chek Lap Kok   28.6  75 30.6/25.4 S  / 41.0 1003.4     32.7
Tsing Yi       27.1  84 27.7/25.4 S  /----- ------   
Shek Kong      ---- --- ----/---- ---/----- ------  

And here is the latest HKO TC Warning:

Bulletin issued at 21:03 HKT 19/Aug/2002
TROPICAL CYCLONE BULLETIN

Here is the latest Tropical Cyclone Advisory Bulletin
issued by the Hong Kong Observatory.

A Tropical Cyclone Alert is now in effect and the Standby Signal,
No. 1 has been issued.

At 9 p.m., Severe Tropical Storm Vongfong was centred about
390 kilometres west-southwest of Hong Kong (near 21.6
degrees north 110.5 degrees east). It is forecast to move
north-northwest at about 20 kilometres per hour, further
inland into Guangdong.

Vongfong has made landfall near Zhanjiang and is forecast to weaken.

Winds are still strong offshore and on high ground in Hong
Kong. The gusts over the southwestern sea areas even reached gale
force occasionally.  The threat of Vongfong to Hong Kong is
still not over. The public are urged not to relax in taking
precautions.

(Precautionary Announcements with No. 1 Signal)
(1)
As seas are rough with swells, you are advised to stay away
from the shoreline and not to engage in water sports.
(2)
Listen to your radio or watch your TV for further weather
information.

STS VongFong is currently inland over Western Guangdong but all forecasts
are for us to recieve a lot more wild weather from this storm yet.
I shall keep you all posted.

Phil
<><

From: "Phil Smith"
To: "_Cyclone Chat Group"
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 2002 06:38:55 +0800
Subject: Tuesday morning mops and buckets report on VongFong

Howling winds and driving rain woke us up many times during the night and
first light indicated an urgent need for mops and buckets as two of our
bedrooms were being flooded.  The wind was forcing the water in through
the "watertight" seals around the SE-facing windows.  Report is short as
I must get back on the mops!

Obs for HKO AWS stations:

Date/Time: 20/8/2002 06:20
Station        Temp RH   Max/Min  Dir/Speed Barometer HI
               (C)  (%)    (C)      (km/h)   (hPa)     (C)
----------------------------------------------------------
HK Observatory 26.2  93 28.0/26.1 ---/----- 1005.2  
King's Park    25.4  92 ----/---- SE / 14.4 1004.7  
Wong Chuk Hang 26.0  93 28.0/26.0 S  / 21.0 ------  
Ta Kwu Ling    27.0  92 27.5/26.3 E  / 13.0 1004.3  
Lau Fau Shan   25.3  98 28.0/25.1 S  / 14.0 1004.6  
Tai Po         27.9  81 28.9/27.9 ---/----- 1004.9  
Sha Tin        26.5  91 28.2/26.5 S  / 13.0 1005.3  
Tuen Mun       25.7  97 28.1/24.9 S  / 13.0 ------   
Tseung Kwan O  25.8  96 27.6/25.7 E  / 10.0 ------  
Sai Kung       25.8  98 26.9/25.8 S  / 31.0 ------   
Cheung Chau    25.7  96 26.0/25.3 S  / 49.0 1004.6  
Chek Lap Kok   28.1  79 29.5/26.5 S  / 32.0 1004.3     32.2
Tsing Yi       25.9  92 27.4/25.5 S  /----- ------   
Shek Kong      ---- --- ----/---- ---/----- ------  

Here is the HKO TC Warning:

Bulletin issued at 05:04 HKT 20/Aug/2002
TROPICAL CYCLONE BULLETIN

Here is the latest Tropical Cyclone Advisory Bulletin
issued by the Hong Kong Observatory.

A Tropical Cyclone Alert is now in effect and the Standby Signal,
No. 1 has been issued.

At 5 a. m., Tropical Depression Vongfong was centred about
480 kilometres west-northwest of Hong Kong (near 23.6
degrees north 109.7 degrees east). It is forecast to move
north-northwest at about 25 kilometres per hour across Guangxi
and weaken further.

In the past few hours, Vongfong weakened rapidly over Guangxi and
its circulation is moving gradually away from Hong Kong. Meanwhile,
the ridge of high pressure over southeastern China is intensifying.
Under the influence of the ridge and Vongfong, winds are still
strong offshore and on high ground in Hong Kong. The gusts
over the southwestern sea areas even reached gale force occasionally.

When the circulation of Vongfong is clear of Hong Kong, the Standby
Signal Number 1 will be cancelled.

(Precautionary Announcements with No. 1 Signal)
(1)
As seas are rough with swells, you are advised to stay away
from the shoreline and not to engage in water sports.
(2)
Listen to your radio or watch your TV for further weather
information.

The wind here has been from the SE and has varied between 15 and 22 km/h
according to the 10 minute mean wind speed chart from HKO AWS at Shatin.

Phil
<><

Current end of reports ... more will be added as the storm progresses.

This page was last modified on 07-Feb-08 at 11:18:06 HKT.

18/08/2002

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