Hong Kong’s weather forecaster has said the Standby Signal No. 1, issued at 9:20 on Wednesday night, will remain in force on Thursday as a tropical cyclone over Luzon is set to skirt 300 kilometers or more from the city.

The tropical cyclone moved northwestwards steadily across the northeastern part of the South China Sea in the past few hours, but its circulation is relatively small, the Hong Kong Observatory said in a weather bulletin issued at 9:45 am on Thursday.

According to the present forecast, the tropical cyclone will intensify gradually while edging closer to the coast of eastern Guangdong on Thursday and Friday, the HKO added.

“Under the influence of the northeast monsoon, it will then turn westwards, moving closer to the vicinity of the Pearl River Estuary. However, there are uncertainties in its landfall position and intensity. ”

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The forecaster said the local weather is expected to remain very hot on Thursday, and more showers and winds will strengthen gradually later on Friday.

Warning that there will be swells, the observatory said Hong Kong could see occasional squally showers and thunderstorms over the weekend.

The observatory said it will assess the need to issue higher tropical cyclone warning signals, depending on the intensity of the tropical cyclone, the distance of its strong winds from Hong Kong and the change in local wind conditions.

Members of the public are advised to stay away from the shoreline and not to engage in water sports.