Tropical storm Francisco, the 14th named storm of the year made landfall on Monday, bringing torrential rain and strong winds to south China’s Hainan province. The storm formed on Saturday night over the South China Sea and by Sunday morning had intensified into a tropical storm packing winds of up to 45mph (72kph). Local governments across four of the provinces issued warnings to fisherman at sea, ordering their return to the port.
Meanwhile tropical storm Jerry, which failed to make landfall yesterday, has since weakened into a depression without causing any damage. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Centre in Miami are now keeping a close eye on three areas of activity in the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean and the north Atlantic, all of which have the potential to develop into cyclones.
The 2007 Atlantic hurricane season has been exceptionally active, spawning three hurricanes so far including Dean and Felix which both reached maximum strength on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
