📊 What is This Dashboard?
The Hong Kong Wind Monitor is a real-time public dashboard that tracks wind conditions across 30 weather stations in Hong Kong Territory. It provides live assessments of whether current conditions meet the criteria for Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 3 (Strong Wind Signal) or Signal No. 8 (Gale or Storm Signal).
This dashboard is designed to help the public, media, and emergency responders understand current typhoon conditions using official Hong Kong Observatory data and internationally recognized meteorological criteria.
🔬 Research Context & Concern
Academic Research Note: This dashboard was developed to investigate concerns over an earlier than usual announcement of the decision to keep Signal No. 8 until 11 AM on September 9, 2025. The system provides transparent, real-time analysis of whether actual wind measurements across Hong Kong's monitoring network justify the official typhoon warning levels.
Purpose: To enable public and academic scrutiny of typhoon warning decisions through open access to the same meteorological data used by the Hong Kong Observatory.
🎯 Signal Criteria
Official Hong Kong Observatory Criteria (2025)
According to the new system, the No. 3 and No. 8 signals will be issued when half or more anemometers in the reference network register sustained winds of specified speeds.
⚠️ Signal No. 3
(25 - 39 mph)
Strong Wind Signal
When ≥50% of stations record sustained winds in this range
🚨 Signal No. 8
(39 - 73 mph)
Gale or Storm Signal
When ≥50% of stations record sustained winds in this range
🗂️ Data Sources
Official Government Data Sources
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Primary: Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) Web Feature Service (WFS)
portal.csdi.gov.hk/geoportal/csdi-climatedata-ws/ -
Spatial Data: Latest 10-minute wind measurements layer
30 weather stations across Hong Kong Territory -
Format: GeoJSON with CSV data links
Real-time station coordinates and wind measurements -
Update Frequency: Every 10 minutes
Synchronized with Hong Kong Observatory data collection
⚙️ How It Works
Data Collection Process
1. Station Discovery: The system queries the HKO WFS endpoint to retrieve current locations and data URLs for all active weather stations.
2. Real-time Monitoring: Every 10 minutes, the dashboard fetches the latest wind measurements from each station's CSV data feed.
3. Signal Assessment: The system applies HKO criteria to determine if half or more stations meet Signal 3 or Signal 8 thresholds.
4. Live Updates: The dashboard automatically refreshes to show current conditions with color-coded indicators.
Station Coverage
The monitoring network includes 30 weather stations strategically located across Hong Kong, including:
- Urban areas: Central, Kai Tak, North Point, Tsim Sha Tsui
- Airports: Chek Lap Kok (Hong Kong International Airport)
- Islands: Cheung Chau, Lamma Island, Peng Chau
- Rural areas: Tai Po, Sha Tin, Sai Kung
- Elevated locations: Tate's Cairn, Ngong Ping
🔧 Technical Specifications
- Data Refresh: Every 10 minutes (600 seconds)
- Geographic Coordinate System: WGS84 (EPSG:4326)
- Wind Speed Units: Kilometers per hour (km/h)
- Deployment: Railway.app cloud platform
- Technology: Python Flask, HTML5, JavaScript
- Data Format: JSON API with real-time updates
⚠️ Important Usage Notes
🚨 Disclaimer
This dashboard is for informational purposes only. For official typhoon warnings and emergency information, always refer to:
- Hong Kong Observatory: www.hko.gov.hk
- MyObservatory Mobile App (Official HKO app)
- Emergency Hotline: 999
- HKO Weather Hotline: 1878 200
This dashboard provides automated analysis based on real-time data, but official warnings are issued by qualified meteorologists considering additional factors beyond wind speed measurements.
🛠️ For Developers
This is an open-source project designed to demonstrate real-time meteorological data processing. The dashboard:
- Uses official Hong Kong government data sources
- Implements HKO signal criteria accurately
- Provides public API endpoints for data access
- Follows modern web development best practices
- Can be deployed to cloud platforms like Railway
- Exports raw CSV data for public transparency and academic research
👨🔬 Research Team & Credits
Project Team
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Principal Researcher: Dr Simon Wang
Lecturer and Innovation Officer, Language Centre, Hong Kong Baptist University
Email: simonwang@hkbu.edu.hk -
Technical Assistant: GitHub Copilot AI agent
Code development, data processing, and web application architecture -
Data Source: Hong Kong Observatory
Official government meteorological data via WFS and API services
📊 Raw Data Access
In the spirit of academic transparency and public accountability, all raw wind measurement data is made available for download:
- CSV Data Format: Download current day's raw wind data
- Data Fields: Timestamp, station name, coordinates, wind speeds, signal levels, official vs calculated signals
- Update Frequency: New data logged every 10 minutes
- Research Use: Available for academic analysis and verification of typhoon warning decisions
📱 Contact & Feedback
This dashboard is maintained as a public service and academic research tool. For technical issues, data accuracy questions, or research collaboration inquiries, please contact:
- Academic Inquiries: Dr Simon Wang - simonwang@hkbu.edu.hk
- Hong Kong Baptist University - Language Centre
- Meteorological Questions: Refer to official Hong Kong Observatory channels
Emergency Situations: Always contact 999 for immediate assistance during severe weather conditions.