Macau's observatory hoisted the Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No.3 at 4 a.m. today. Signal No. 3 replaced Storm Standby Signal No.1 which had been hoisted last night.
According to a statement by the Macau Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG), the warning signal "will remain in effect during the day."
At 2 p.m., Tropical Storm Lionrock was located about 530 km southwest of Macau and moving towards the nation's southernmost island province on Hainan.
The bureau said the hoisting of Signal No. 3 indicates that "under the influence of a tropical cyclone, winds with a sustained speed of 41 to 62 km/h are expected or blowing and the gusts may exceed 110 km/h in Macau."
The bureau also said that Lionrock "has a broad circulation", passing through the South China Sea at a distance of about 500 km southwest of Macau between tonight and tomorrow morning.
Macau has a five-level storm/typhoon signal warning system: 1, 3, 8, 9, 10.
Meanwhile, the weather station issued the Blue Storm Surge warning at 11 a.m. It forecast that flooding is expected to occur in low-lying areas between 9 p.m. and midnight today.
The Blue Storm Surge warning indicates that the water level is expected to be below 0.5 metre above road level. It is the lowest of a five-level storm surge warning system.
Meanwhile, the bureau warned that a tropical depression to the east of the Philippines is expected to move towards the Luzon Strait at the beginning of next week.
