The Hong Kong Observatory will consider issuing the lowest-tier standby typhoon signal No 1 late Friday, as a tropical cyclone over the seas east of the Philippines is expected to edge closer and come within 800 kilometers of Hong Kong.

At 4 pm Thursday, the tropical depression was centered about 780 km east-northeast of Manila and was forecast to move west-northwest at about 28 km per hour in the general direction of the vicinity of Luzon Strait, the observatory said.

The tropical cyclone will edge closer towards the coast of eastern Guangdong during the weekend and intensify progressively, according to the HKO’s special weather notice.

The local weather will still be very hot at first on Saturday, but local winds will strengthen gradually and squally showers will increase later, the city’s weather agency said.

“According to the present assessment, it has a higher chance to make landfall over the vicinity of Huizhou to Shantou, but its distance from Hong Kong remains uncertain,” the observatory pointed out.

ALSO READ: HKO to consider raising T1 as heavy showers expected on Tuesday

The HKO said it will assess the need for higher tropical cyclone warning signals later on Saturday, depending on the change in intensity of the tropical cyclone, the distance of its strong winds from Hong Kong, and the local wind conditions.

Warning that there will be heavy squally showers and thunderstorms locally, as well as swells, on Sunday, the observatory reminded members of the public of taking note of the latest weather information from the observatory.