The Hong Kong Observatory has cancelled an amber rainstorm warning but cautioned that squally showers and thunderstorms will continue to affect the city in the coming days.
The amber alert, the lowest in the three-tier rainstorm warning system, was lifted at 11.30am on Saturday, 90 minutes after it was issued. It indicates that more than 30mm (1.2 inches) of rain has fallen or is expected to fall within an hour across Hong Kong.
“Though [the] rainstorm warning has been cancelled, people should stay alert to the danger that may be brought about by river flooding,” the forecaster said.
Between 9am and 11am, the observatory recorded more than 5,700 lightning strikes, of which 1,810 were cloud-to-ground, with the remainder cloud-to-cloud.
The forecaster had earlier warned of “violent gusts” affecting the city, with winds of about 80km/h (50mph) recorded on Cheung Chau at around 10.10am.
The unsettled weather follows Friday’s heat, when temperatures rose to 34.6 degrees Celsius (94.3 Fahrenheit) at the Observatory’s headquarters in Tsim Sha Tsui, the highest recorded so far this year.