Kalmaegi, the little typhoon

After several days of whispering rumours that the first typhoon of the year was coming (although September is the end of the season - particularly known for the worst typhoons), yesterday Tropical Cyclone Kalmaegi hit Hong Kong.

During the day, the Hong Kong Observatory issued a T3 (Out of 10) warning - an eminent sign of incoming bad weather. Hourly updates informed the city to the current and forecasted position of Kalmaegi, the wind speeds in Hong Kong and precautions we should start taking. For the first time in three weeks, I felt more than a mini gust of wind.

By the afternoon, what the heavy cool breezes were already telling us, the Observatory confirmed. A level 8 typhoon would be with us in the coming hours. Although the current signal warning was still at T3, people were waiting for the T8 signal to be raised. When the T8 signal is hoisted, the city becomes a ghost town with schools and workplaces are closed, doors and windows locked and everybody waiting calmly inside for the storm to pass.

And so, after an evening of wind and rain, excitement and curiosity, the level 8 signal was given at 10pm. I looked outside my window. No wind, no rain, no thunder or lightening. I could even see the lights on the other side of the bay - usually a sign of good weather. By the time I went to bed, the rain had come with occasional gusts of wind but nothing worse than earlier in the day.

I regret to say, either the weather didn't get much worse, or I'm a deep sleeper, but I heard nothing much worse than a british rainstorm that night. Although, the fog in the morning was like nothing I've seen - only a wall of white was visible outside my window.

Come the morning, the T8 warning was still active which meant 'Typhoon day!' (No snow days here in HK), but with the warning downgraded back to T3 by 11am, afternoon classes were back on and a trek to University in the rain was necessary.

However, whilst I say how anti-climatic the whole event was, the newspapers reported hundreds of delayed and cancelled flights from the airport, 128 fallen trees, flooding in some areas, and a landslide. I guess we must have been nicely sheltered, or I really am a deep sleeper.

And that was little Typhoon Kalmaegi, and she's already left without causing too much drama...