Tropical cyclone Man-yi has been upgraded to a super typhoon but will weaken as it moves closer to Hong Kong on Monday.
The Observatory said on Saturday the super typhoon was about 1,580km (982 miles) southeast of Hong Kong and about 490km east-southeast of Manila.
“We expect Man-yi will enter within 800km of Hong Kong between Sunday night and early Monday,” scientific officer Lao Wing-kwan said.
“Under the combined effect of the northeast monsoon and Man-yi, winds will gradually strengthen over the region next Monday and Tuesday, the Observatory will issue a tropical cyclone warning signal by then.”
He said the forecaster could not yet predict the level of typhoon warning to be issued as it would depend on the storm’s route, intensity and distance from the Pearl River Delta.
Lao said Man-yi, a name that refers to Hong Kong’s High Island Reservoir in Sai Kung, became a super typhoon at around 11pm on Friday.