The Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 3 will remain in force until at least 6 pm on Tuesday, as Severe Tropical Storm Fengshen is expected to bring strong winds, rain, and cooler temperatures to Hong Kong, the city’s weather forecaster.

“In the past few hours, Fengshen skirted at over 400 kilometers to the south of Hong Kong,” the Hong Kong Observatory said in a 7:45 am bulletin.

Under the combined effect of Fengshen and the northeast monsoon, winds will be generally strong over the territory on Tuesday, occasionally reaching gale force on high ground, it said.

The Education Bureau announced Tuesday morning that with the T3 signal in force, classes of kindergartens, schools for children with physical disability and schools for children with intellectual disability will remain suspended during the day.

With Fengshen approaching the city, the HKO issued the T3 signal directly at 5:20 pm on Monday skipping the T1 signal.

According to the HKO, Fengshen will move southwestwards gradually and depart from Hong Kong by Tuesday.

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“When the local weather is dominated by the northeast monsoon, the observatory will consider issuing the Strong Monsoon Signal to replace the Strong Wind Signal, No. 3,” the bulletin adds.

Under the combined effect of spring tide, the northeast monsoon and Fengshen, water levels over local coastal areas can reach 0.5 to 1 meter higher than normal on Wednesday and Thursday.

Warning that flooding may occur over some low-lying coastal areas during the high tides at night, the forecaster said the water level over Victoria Harbour will rise to around 3 meters above chart datum.

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With the outer rainbands of Fengshen affecting the vicinity of the Pearl River Estuary and the coast of Guangdong on Tuesday, weather is expected to be appreciably cooler.

In Hong Kong, temperatures will linger around 23 degrees during the day on Tuesday and fall progressively later to a minimum of about 19 degrees at night, said the HKO.