Every summer, Hong Kong plays the same guessing game. A storm is spinning somewhere in the South China Sea, the Observatory has hoisted the No. 1, and by lunchtime the whole office has an opinion on whether the No. 8 will go up before the end of the day. Phones get refreshed. Weather apps get compared. Someone always claims to know a man who knows.

If you live or work in Hong Kong, the typhoon signals decide whether you go to work, whether the buses run and whether the kids are home for the day. Here’s what each signal means, what happens at work, and the Cantonese you’ll hear when the wind picks up.

The typhoon signals, from 1 to 10

The Hong Kong Observatory, 天文台 (tin1 man4 toi4), issues tropical cyclone warning signals, 熱帶氣旋警告信號 (jit6 daai3 hei3 syun4 ging2 gou3 seon3 hou6). Nobody says that in full. Everyone says 風球 (fung1 kau4), “wind ball”, because the signals used to be real shapes hoisted on masts around the harbour. That’s also why a signal is “hoisted”, 掛 (gwaa3), even though today it arrives as a phone notification. In English, people shorten them to T1, T3, T8 and so on.

You might wonder about the gaps. Some numbers simply fell away in earlier reforms, but until 1973, signals 5, 6, 7 and 8 each warned of gales from a different direction. The Observatory merged them into one No. 8 to avoid confusion, which is why the No. 8 still comes with a direction: northeast, northwest, southeast or southwest. On the news you’ll hear the full name, such as 八號東南烈風或暴風信號 (baat3 hou6 dung1 naam4 lit6 fung1 waak6 bou6 fung1 seon3 hou6), the No. 8 Southeast Gale or Storm Signal. In conversation, it’s just 八號波.

The No. 10, or T10, is rare, but not as rare as it used to be. In 2025 Hong Kong had two in a single season, for Wipha and then Ragasa, which equalled a record set in 1964.

Rainstorm warnings: amber, red and black

Typhoons aren’t the only thing that stops the city. Summer downpours get their own rainstorm warnings, 暴雨警告 (bou6 jyu5 ging2 gou3), based on how much rain is falling in an hour. Most people just call them by their colour:

Black rain works differently from a No. 8. If you’re already at work when it’s issued, you’re generally expected to stay put rather than head home through the flood. If you’re still at home, you wait it out. Expect flooded streets, 水浸 (seoi2 zam3), and very full trains once it lifts.

What a No. 8 means for work

The No. 8 is the closest thing Hong Kong has to a snow day: an unplanned bonus on top of the year’s public holidays. Once it’s hoisted, most people don’t go to work, 唔使返工 (m4 sai2 faan1 gung1), and if it goes up during the day, offices send staff home in stages. The Labour Department’s guidance says employers shouldn’t withhold wages, attendance bonuses or allowances from staff who can’t get to work on time because of a typhoon or rainstorm. Our guide to Cantonese for work covers the rest of office life.

A few things worth knowing:

• The Observatory aims to give a Pre-No. 8 Special Announcement about two hours before the signal goes up, so people can get home before the buses and ferries stop.

• The MTR keeps running at a reduced service, though trains on open-air sections stop if the No. 9 or No. 10 goes up. Most buses, minibuses and ferries stop soon after the No. 8, and taxis get scarce.

• The stock market no longer closes. Since September 2024, Hong Kong’s exchange keeps trading through a No. 8 and black rain, so if you work in finance, the storm may not get you a day off.

• When the No. 8 comes down, many offices expect staff back within a set time, often two hours, so check your company’s typhoon policy before you settle in for a long lunch.

• After a very severe storm, the government can announce “extreme conditions”, which keeps people at home for a little longer while fallen trees are cleared.

• Some jobs, from hospital staff to the people keeping the trains running, are “designated” and work through the storm. Spare them a thought.

Because the No. 8 means a day off for most people, its timing is a city-wide obsession. A signal hoisted at 7am is a free day. One hoisted at 3pm means a scramble for the last bus. And one lowered at 5am, just in time for work, is a small civic tragedy.

The Cantonese you’ll hear when a typhoon hits

And a few lines for the office group chat:

• 今日會唔會掛八號波呀？ (gam1 jat6 wui5 m4 wui5 gwaa3 baat3 hou6 bo1 aa3): “Will they hoist the No. 8 today?”

• 聽日使唔使返工？ (ting1 jat6 sai2 m4 sai2 faan1 gung1): “Do we have to go to work tomorrow?”

• 出面好大風呀。 (ceot1 min6 hou2 daai6 fung1 aa3): “It’s really windy out there.”

• 小心啲，唔好出街。 (siu2 sam1 di1, m4 hou2 ceot1 gaai1): “Be careful, don’t go out.”

The tones matter here. 風 (fung1) is high and level. Drop it to a low tone and you get 鳳 (fung6), a phoenix. Our Cantonese tones guide explains how the six tones work, and our guide to numbers in Cantonese covers the signal numbers.

How Hong Kong does a typhoon day

Typhoon days have their own rituals. The day before, supermarkets fill with people stocking up, 搶購 (coeng2 kau3), and the bread shelves are usually the first to empty. Plenty of people tape a big cross on their windows too. Tape won’t stop the glass breaking, but the Observatory still recommends it for large panes, because taped glass is less likely to fly across the room if it does break.

Once the No. 8 is up and everyone is safely home, the mood often turns oddly cosy. Plenty of families and flatmates mark the occasion with hotpot, 打邊爐 (daa2 bin1 lou4), while the wind howls outside, and the group chats fill with videos of swaying trees and waves crashing over the seafront.

The serious part is simple: stay indoors once the No. 8 is up, keep away from windows during the worst of it, and don’t go to the seafront to film the waves, however tempting it looks on social media.

Before your first typhoon season

If you’re new to the city, download the Observatory’s app, MyObservatory (我的天文台, ngo5 dik1 tin1 man4 toi4), check your office’s typhoon policy, and keep some food in the cupboard from June onwards. Our guide to moving to Hong Kong covers the Cantonese for everything else in your first months, and our phrases for travellers help if a storm catches you mid-trip.

And if you’d like to follow the office typhoon chat in Cantonese, not just the emoji, our online Cantonese lessons with a native Hong Kong tutor start with the language you’ll actually hear.