Intensity (ten-minute mean)
蘇拉 Saola
- Peak wind
- 194km/h
- Lowest pressure
- 920hPa
- Closest approach
- about 40km south-east
- Hong Kong Observatory
- Hurricane Signal No. 10
- Mean peak, eight stations
- 79.2km/h
- Waglan Island
- not recorded
Ten-minute mean sustained winds measured by the Observatory, not computed here. Stations differ greatly: Waglan Island faces open sea while urban stations sit among buildings, so the same storm can read twice as high at one as at the other.
Skirted the coast just south of the Pearl River Estuary at super typhoon strength — a small circulation carrying extreme winds.
Satellite image 30 Aug 2023 · NASA Worldview · VIIRS
Track timeline
Track timeline- 157 km/h955 hPa
- 194 km/h920 hPa
- 194 km/h920 hPa
- 176 km/h940 hPa
- 111 km/h980 hPa
- —1000 hPa
Full track
Full trackA best track is after-the-fact reanalysis, not what was forecast at the time. All times UTC+8.
| Time | Position | Pressure | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Aug 08:00 | 18.5°N 123.5°E | 955 hPa | 157 km/h |
| 29 Aug 14:00 | 18.9°N 123.1°E | 950 hPa | 167 km/h |
| 29 Aug 20:00 | 19.3°N 122.7°E | 940 hPa | 176 km/h |
| 30 Aug 02:00 | 19.9°N 121.9°E | 935 hPa | 185 km/h |
| 30 Aug 08:00 | 20.1°N 121.0°E | 920 hPa | 194 km/h |
| 30 Aug 14:00 | 20.4°N 120.3°E | 920 hPa | 194 km/h |
| 30 Aug 20:00 | 20.7°N 119.6°E | 920 hPa | 194 km/h |
| 31 Aug 02:00 | 20.9°N 118.7°E | 920 hPa | 194 km/h |
| 31 Aug 08:00 | 21.1°N 118.2°E | 920 hPa | 194 km/h |
| 31 Aug 14:00 | 21.2°N 117.8°E | 920 hPa | 194 km/h |
| 31 Aug 20:00 | 21.5°N 117.3°E | 935 hPa | 185 km/h |
| 1 Sept 02:00 | 21.6°N 116.8°E | 940 hPa | 176 km/h |
| 1 Sept 08:00 | 21.9°N 116.2°E | 940 hPa | 176 km/h |
| 1 Sept 14:00 | 22.0°N 115.4°E | 940 hPa | 176 km/h |
| 1 Sept 20:00 | 22.0°N 114.4°E | 950 hPa | 157 km/h |
| 2 Sept 02:00 | 22.0°N 113.4°E | 970 hPa | 130 km/h |
| 2 Sept 08:00 | 21.7°N 112.7°E | 980 hPa | 111 km/h |
| 2 Sept 14:00 | 21.7°N 111.9°E | 990 hPa | 93 km/h |
| 2 Sept 20:00 | 21.7°N 111.1°E | 996 hPa | 65 km/h |
| 3 Sept 02:00 | 21.6°N 110.5°E | 998 hPa | — |
| 3 Sept 08:00 | 21.4°N 109.7°E | 1000 hPa | — |
Further reading
- What an ensemble forecast is, and what it is not
A spray of tracks is a statement about uncertainty, not a menu of outcomes.
- Hong Kong's typhoon signals, explained
What each of the five levels means in wind speed, and why the No. 8 comes in four directions.
- Why a storm to the south brings easterly winds
Cyclones spin anticlockwise north of the equator, so the wind where you stand depends on which side of the storm you are on.