Tropical Storm Chanthu edges closer to China

Tropical Storm Chanthu is moving closer to the south China coast and is expected to make landfall early Thursday morning local time. The storm has been gaining strength with wind speeds expected to exceed 80 MPH (130 km/hr) which would make Chanthu a Category 1 typhoon. At midnight sustained winds of 63 MPH (102 km/hr) were reported by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Tropical Storm Chanthu is expected to make landfall near Hainan Island in the far western corner of Guandong province.

Tropical storm heading toward China coast (CNN)

A tropical storm is expected to make landfall in South China early Thursday, adding more weather woes to a region that's already been deluged.

According to the state-run Xinhua news agency, the Qiongzhou Strait between the Chinese mainland and Hainan island was closed Wednesday as tropical storm Chanthu headed toward south China.

Chanthu's eye is expected to make landfall between Guangdong's coastal city of Yangjiang and Hainan's Qionghai City sometime Thursday.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center said the storm has sustained winds of 63 mph (102 kph) which are expected to grow to nearly 81 mph (130 kph). The center is operated by the U.S. Navy and Air Force in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

The tropical storm will bring gales and heavy rain to southern and eastern coastal areas of China, including Guangdong and Hainan, over the next 24 hours. The statement said coastal areas of Guangdong are likely to be most affected by the storm.

As the outer rainbands of the storm came ashore in Hong Kong last night, the Hong Kong Observatory issued a Strong Wind Warning No. 3 indicating that the area would experience gale force winds of 41 - 62 km/hr (25 - 39 MPH).

HK Observatory issues tropical cyclone warnings on Chanthu (Xinhua)

HONG KONG, July 21 (Xinhua) -- As tropical storm Chanthu continues to move closer to Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Observatory issued a tropical cyclone bulletin on Wednesday afternoon, raising the warning to Strong Wind Signal No. 3.

This means that winds with mean speeds of 41 to 62 kilometers per hour are expected, said the Hong Kong Observatory.

At 5 p.m. HK time (0900 GMT), Chanthu was estimated to be about 410 km south-southwest of Hong Kong and is forecast to move northwest at about 12 km per hour, edging closer to the coast of western Guangdong, said the bulletin.

The outer rainbands of Chanthu are affecting Hong Kong. As Chanthu continues to move closer, winds will strengthen overnight, it said.'

On Wednesday afternoon, the maximum sustained winds recorded at Tate's Cairn and Cheung Chau in southwest Hong Kong were 46 and 36 km per hour, respectively, it said.