Sputtering out: Tropical storm Aere was forecast to move west-southwest at about 20 kilometres an hour across the coast of Eastern Guangdong. The red cross represents Hong Kong.

Tropical cyclone signal No.1 has been lowered as tropical storm Aere weakened into a depression. All signals were lowered at 4:10am.

At 3am, the centre of the tropical storm was estimated to be about 120 kilometres north of Hong Kong, at about 23.4 degrees north and 114.3 degrees east. Near its centre, the maximum sustained winds were about 38 kilometres an hour.

Aere was expected to be closest to Hong Kong this morning.

Reminding people to take necessary precautions, the Observatory monitored the latest development closely.

The Home Affairs Department activated a Public Enquiry Service Hotline, 2835 1473, to answer questions from the public about the storm.

If typhoon signal No. 8, or higher, had been issued, the department would have opened temporary shelters for people in need of accommodation.