What does typhoon signal No.8 mean?

Typhoon signal No.8 refers to one of the tropical cyclone warning signals in Hong Kong and Macao.

Since 1884, Hong Kong has adopted a set of cylindrical, spherical and conical systems commonly known as "typhoon balls", and used a single sign weighing 25 kilograms as a signal to release information about tropical cyclones and their approximate locations to ships in Hong Kong. When a tropical cyclone approaches Hong Kong, fire a gun to warn residents that strong winds will blow Hong Kong.

In the following decades, the meaning of numbers has been changing. Until 1973 65438+ 10/0/,the warning signals of five tropical cyclones 1, 3, 8, 9, 1 0 were determined. The higher the number, the higher the level. This series of signal systems have been used to this day. However, Hong Kong people still call the typhoon warning by the original hanging standard, that is, "typhoon ball", which is now commonly known as "hanging typhoon ball".

The origin of words

When Hong Kong people mention typhoon signals, the verb is "hang", which is not groundless. As early as 1884, the Hong Kong Observatory began to use a signal system consisting of cylinders, spheres and cones to disseminate information about tropical cyclones to ships and citizens in Hong Kong.

With the increase of population, signal stations gradually spread all over Hong Kong, reaching its peak in the 1960s, and there were 42 signal stations in Hong Kong. But in recent years, TV stations and the Internet can broadcast the weather instantly and accurately, and signal stations have gradually become furnishings. In 2002, the last signal station was closed, and the physical typhoon era officially ended, but the word "hang" remained.

The above contents refer to Baidu Encyclopedia-Typhoon.