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Hail was reported on Hong Kong’s outlying islands on Friday afternoon while an amber rainstorm warning was in force, with heavy downpours also leaking through the closed roof of Kai Tak Stadium during the Sevens rugby tournament.

The Hong Kong Observatory cancelled the amber rainstorm warning after 2½ hours, after earlier telling residents to brace for hail and violent gusts as severe thunderstorms approached the city.

The forecaster sent out the amber alert, the lowest of its three-tiered system, at 4.35pm. Less than an hour earlier, it issued several special weather tips and noted that hail could affect the city in the “next couple of hours”. The rainstorm signal was cancelled at 7pm.

Earlier, the forecaster received reports of hail in Islands district at around 5pm.

Around that time, heavy rain was seen pouring through the closed roof of Kai Tak Stadium onto the pitch while Hong Kong Sevens matches were being played.

Kai Tak Sports Park said there was a “brief and minor seepage” during the activation of measures to prevent rainwater from entering.

“The incident was neither structural nor systemic in nature,” it said.