The Macau Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) said in a statement yesterday that Tropical Cyclone Rai was expected to move into the South China Sea at the weekend, which could bring rain and cloud bands to Macau at the beginning of next week.
According to the statement, the tropical cyclone was over the Northwest Pacific Ocean when the statement was released at 2 p.m. yesterday and was expected to move across the central or southern Philippines by this weekend.
The statement noted that according to previous records, the last time a tropical cyclone affected Macau in December was in 1974, adding that yesterday afternoon the storm was 3,000 kilometres away from Macau so there were still many uncertainties.
The statement said that according to Rai’s current route and development, it could affect Macau’s weather next Monday and Tuesday. The statement also listed three hypotheses on what will possibly happen if the tropical cyclone approaches. The statement said that one scenario is that if Rai comes as close as 800 kilometres from Macau, it will bring heavy rain and strong winds to the city. Another hypothesis is, the statement added, that if the tropical cyclone weakens after entering the South China Sea, then Macau will not be affected at all. The third possibility, the statement underlined, if Rai makes landfall in Vietnam, it will bring raincloud bands to Guangdong and showers to Macau.
This satellite image provided by the Macau Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) at 2 p.m. yesterday shows Tropical Cyclone Rai 3,000 kilometres away from Macau.
