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Heaviest Downpour in 100 Years Strikes Shanghai, 117mm in 1 Hour - 25th August 2008

Angry skies over Shanghai in the aftermath of an intense thunderstorm

I woke up at 6am this morning to the sound of distant thunder and thought to myself, "excellent, we'll only need one more thunderstorm day and that will be a record high number for August - 14."

I went back to sleep only to be woken up an hour later by much louder rumbles and my window rattling. I got up to enjoy the show and the sight outside was incredible. I live on the 18th floor and it was almost a whiteout as rain comparable to that in the eyewall of a hurricane sheeted down, blasting the whole city.

The scene was so surreal as the whiteout was flashing at a rate of about 30 strikes a minute and explosive thunder boomed continuously overhead. It was like explosive fog!

The worst of it lasted about 25 minutes. It was only after I got to work I heard many reports of houses and streets across the city being flooded.

Now it's come to my attention that this was the heaviest downpour recorded in a 100 years! The area of the city just to the SW received 143mm, of which a staggering 117mm fell between 7am and 8am! Here's a link to an article on the local paper - http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=371400&type=Metro

I only managed to take one photo (since my balcony faced directly into the wind and was being blasted by rain) and that was in the aftermath.

Once of the best non-tropical storms I've ever seen! 

Typhoon Alert - Northwest Pacific

Severe Tropical Storm Nuri to Strike Hong Kong Today 22nd August 2008 0130z

Latest visible image of severe tropical storm Nuri as it approaches Hong Kong. Image courtesy of NRL Monterey

Update 3 0130z 22nd August 08:    Typhoon Nuri has weakened into a severe tropical storm but is still due to make a direct hit on Hong Kong this afternoon and into the evening bringing high winds and torrential rains to the territory. The Hong Kong Observatory has raised typhoon signal 8, effectively shutting down the city with schools and businesses closing for the day.

According to the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA - the official typhoon forecaster in the region) it has sustained winds of 63mph with gusts to 92mph.

Winds across Hong Kong will steadily increase throughout the day as will the threat of torrential rain and downpours.

There are reports that 5 people were killed in the Philippines when typhoon Nuri swept across the far northern coast of Luzon.

For more information please visit the following websites:

http://www.jma.go.jp/en/typh/0812c.html - JMA official warning page

http://www.hko.gov.hk/informtc/informtc.htm - Hong Kong Observatory typhoon warning page

Below I have added forecast charts and data from various regional forecasting agencies. Here is the official forecast data from JMA:

WTPQ20 RJTD 220000
RSMC TROPICAL CYCLONE ADVISORY
NAME  STS 0812 NURI (0812)
ANALYSIS
PSTN  220000UTC 21.4N 115.2E FAIR
MOVE  NW 08KT
PRES  980HPA
MXWD  055KT
GUST  080KT
50KT  40NM
30KT  270NM SOUTHEAST 180NM NORTHWEST

Warning 20 from JTWC

Latest warning from JMA