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The powerful storm struck the coast on the southern shores of China on the weekend, following its passage over the provincial island of Hainan. The severe weather led to the relocation of approximately 350,000 people, delivering heavy downpours and destructive gusts, especially between Guangdong's Wuchuan and Hainan's Wenchang. Boat transport were suspended and air travel disrupted at the airport in Haikou.

Typhoon Statistics

The typhoon, the 21st cyclone of 2025, had sustained wind speeds of 94mph and poured more than 50mm of precipitation in six hours in Qinzhou and Chongzou. The city of Nanning also experienced high rainfall totals.

Matmo triggered China's top-tier red alert, with disruptions in the city, where businesses, transportation systems and highways were closed. In the special administrative region, 100 flights were impacted and 30 cancelled.

Forecast and Movement

As the typhoon moves inland towards Cao Bang province in the neighboring country, it is expected to diminish into a less intense system with 89km/h winds but will continue to bring substantial precipitation. Northern Vietnam could face significant rainfall on the following day, increasing the risk of flooding and landslides. The weather pattern is expected to move towards Yunnan province in China, where further heavy rainfall is likely.

Global Weather Events

Meanwhile, Hurricane Priscilla formed off the Pacific shoreline of Mexico on Saturday night, first as a storm system. It led to a weather alert for the southwestern areas from Punta San Telmo to Punta Mita on the start of the week.

In the morning of the next day, Priscilla was about 305 miles from Cabo Corrientes with continuous gusts of 105km/h. It intensified into a hurricane in the evening, when sustained winds reached at 121km/h.

Although unlikely to hit the coast, Priscilla is expected to generate hazardous swells and strong currents as it tracks north-west along the coast towards a Mexican state. Substantial rain is predicted on the coming day, amounting to a considerable volume in Michoacán and western Guerrero, with local totals at about 200mm. Other regions could face moderate to heavy rain.

Elsewhere, a cyclone named Shakhti has formed as the initial post-season cyclonic storm of 2025 in the Arabian Sea, causing an warning from the national weather agency for an Indian state. On that day, the cyclone was 130 miles southeast of Ras al Hadd, Oman with peak wind speeds of 64mph.

The storm, which has moved in a southwestern direction and weakened, is predicted to recurve eastward into the Arabian Sea. Turbulent waters are likely to continue along the Gujarat-North Maharashtra coast and intense rain is expected in shoreline areas including Dwarka, Jamnagar and Surat.