Typhoon signal no. 1 has been raised in Macao and will remain hoisted today, with a tropical depression edging closer to the SAR. At 11 am, the depression was located 570 kilometres east-southeast of the city and was forecast to move northwest at around 18 kilometres an hour toward the eastern coast of Guangdong.
According to Macao’s Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (called the SMG after its Portuguese abbreviation), the circulation of this tropical cyclone is “relatively small with limited gale-force wind areas.” The SMG says there is so far only a “medium” chance of the no. 3 signal being raised on Friday morning.
However, another tropical depression has formed east of Luzon. Meteorologists in the Philippines say that this second storm will steadily intensify up to typhoon strength while moving northwestward over the Philippine Sea.
[See more: The Ultimate Macao Typhoon Survival Guide]
They also warn that it could reach “super typhoon” strength – that is, become a cyclone with sustained winds of at least 241 kilometres per hour. Hato (2017) and Mangkhut (2018) were super typhoons, the former causing fatalities in Macao and both storms leading to widespread damage.
At 4 am today, the second storm – known in the Philippines as tropical depression Nando – was located 1,225 kilometres east of southeastern Luzon and moving north-northwestward at 15 kilometres per hour.
Over the next 48 hours, it is expected to continue moving slowly northwest, then turn west-northwest by Saturday, heading toward northern Luzon, with possible intensification into a super typhoon as it enters the seas north of Luzon.
