The Hong Kong Observatory, Hong Kong’s official government weather agency, is calling the imminent landfall of Typhoon Usagi a “severe threat to Hong Kong,” a city with over 7.1 million inhabitants. Usagi continues to slowly weaken from its former peak intensity on Thursday of 160 mph winds, and is currently packing maximum sustained winds of 140 mph with gusts up to 165 mph, as it barrels toward Hong Kong.

On Thursday evening, a satellite-based estimate of its minimum pressure was an incredible 882 mb, which would have made it the deepest and most intense storm to exist on Earth since 1984 (tied with hurricane Wilma in 2005), according to the Washington Post.

Below is a spectacular enhanced satellite loop showing the explosive rapid intensification of Usagi on September 19.[Super Typhoon Usagi infrared satellite loop (Photo Credit: CIMSS Satellite Blog)]





Typhoon Usagi is currently the equivalent of a strong Category 4 hurricane in the Atlantic. The typhoon is expected to weaken slightly over the next 24-48 hours as it passes to the south of Taiwan and interacts with its mountainous terrain, but it will still remain a very dangerous and potentially deadly typhoon.

Wind gusts ranging from 80 to 120 mph are currently impacting southern Taiwan, threatening to cause widespread destruction across far-southern Taiwan Saturday.

[Typhoon Usagi Taiwan Radar Image 9/21/13 1:30 am ET Saturday (Photo Credit: Central Weather Bureau)]

CLICK HERE for an animated Taiwan radar loop

Another major concern for loss of lives and property will be a devastating storm surge of 10 to 18 feet along the southeastern coast of Taiwan, and potentially devastating mudslides triggered by the storms torrential rainfall.

After battering Taiwan on Saturday, Usagi will take aim at Southeast China with a predicted landfall very close to Hong Kong Sunday afternoon or Sunday night. Usagi could still be the equivalent of a Category 2 or 3 hurricane as it nears Southeast China, packing winds of between 100 and 110 mph according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Confidence in the overall track is high but any small deviations could push the brunt of the storm to Hong Kong’s northeast or southwest.

The good news for Hong Kong is, “the system is unlikely to re-intensify over the south china sea due to land interaction and decreasing ocean heat content,” according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.

[The forecast track for Typhoon Usagi (the purple symbols and circles) shows it moving west between Taiwan and the Philippines before heading directly into SE China and Hong Kong. (Photo Credit: Joint Typhoon Warning Center)]

The Hong Kong Observatory has just issued a Strong Wind Signal, No. 3, which means residents of Hong Kong should expects to see winds over 40 mph imminently and warns residents that the typhoon poses ‘a severe threat to Hong Kong.’ The latest advisory issued at 11:40 p.m. local time (11:40 am ET 9/21/13) reads:



According to the present forecast track, Usagi will come rather close to the vicinity of the Pearl River Estuary on Sunday and Monday and will pose severe threat to Hong Kong. Strong winds have already started to affect high ground. Local winds will also strengthen gradually. In the past hour, the maximum sustained winds recorded at Tate’s Cairn were 48 kilometres per hour with maximum gusts 58 kilometres per hour. Local weather will deteriorate significantly with rough seas and heavy squally showers. Under the effect of the astronomical high tide, storm surge induced by Usagi may also lead to flooding in low-lying areas on Sunday night. The public should be on the alert, and take precautions against strong winds and flooding as early as possible. Areas from Zhanjiang to Hong Kong northward to Zhangzhou should closely monitor this storm as the potential for flooding rainfall, damaging winds and coastal flooding exists Sunday into Monday.

Here is an incredible high resolution satellite image of the Super Typhoon from Thursday afternoon near its peak intensity:

[Super Typhoon Usagi infrared satellite image 12:33 p.m. ET Thursday (Photo Credit: Colorado State University)]