Typhoon Saola (2023)

Typhoon Saola, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Goring, was a powerful and erratic tropical cyclone that affected the Philippines, southern Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and South China in late August 2023. The name Saola, is in reference to a rare animal found in Vietnam. The ninth named storm, seventh typhoon, and third super typhoon of the 2023 typhoon season, Saola originated from an area of convection east of Taiwan and headed southwestwards.

Saola then began a process of rapid intensification while making a looping trend. Although it did not make a direct landfall over Luzon, Saola made the closer pass into Central Luzon as a Category 4 equivalent typhoon, bringing gusty winds and heavy rains over the country. It weakened back to a Category 2 typhoon on September 1. After it executed a south-southeastward turn, Saola went again in an explosive intensification to Category 5 as it passes over Batanes and left PAR on August 31 still as a super typhoon.

Prior to the approach of Saola, HKO raised the highest signal category in anticipation of the storm, the first time in 5 years since Mangkhut of 2018. The storm continued to approach closely over Hong Kong and Macau, battering with strong gusty winds and heavy rains over the area before weakening and making landfall over Southern China.