On May 24, 2026, within one week, Wuhan, Hubei Province, issued red rainstorm warnings twice. On the morning of May 24th, Wuhan once again issued a red rainstorm warning signal, stating that except for special industries, gatherings, classes, and businesses should be suspended.
At 10:11 on May 24th, the Wuhan Meteorological Observatory issued a red rainstorm warning signal, indicating that in the past hour, 30-60 millimeters of precipitation have been recorded in Caidian, Xiaogan, and ETD Xiangkou. It is estimated that in the next 3 hours, parts of ETD, Caidian, and Jiangxia will still experience 40-70 millimeters of rainfall, with total rainfall expected to exceed 100 millimeters. The risks of urban and rural flooding, geological disasters, and small to medium-sized river flooding are extremely high, requiring enhanced prevention measures.
At 12:00 on the 24th, the real-time ranking of hourly precipitation by the China Meteorological Administration showed that Caidian District of Wuhan ranked fifth nationwide in hourly rainfall. Prior to this, Wuhan had briefly climbed to second place in the national ranking of hourly rainfall on the China Weather Net.
This is the second red rainstorm warning in Wuhan within a week.
On Monday (May 18th) at 22:33, Wuhan had issued a red rainstorm warning. Statistics show that this week, Wuhan has issued a total of 14 rainstorm warnings, including 2 red warnings, 7 orange warnings, and 5 yellow warnings. Except for brief sunny intervals on the 20th, rainfall persisted throughout the week.
The meteorological observatory simultaneously issued defense guidelines, stating that the government and relevant departments should fulfill their responsibilities in emergency response and disaster relief for rainstorms; gatherings, classes, and operations should be suspended (except for special industries); and measures should be taken to prevent and respond to disasters such as flash floods, landslides, and mudslides.
The topic of “suspension of classes and businesses in Wuhan” trended on Weibo that day.
Residents of Wuhan commented on Weibo, saying, “The rain in Wuhan this time is really heavy and sudden. It rained all night last night, the rain in Wuchang has eased a bit, but it’s still heavy in Hanyang. I didn’t even drive out today, and the roads are blocked everywhere.”
Some netizens expressed confusion, “Will classes still be suspended today or tomorrow? I haven’t received any notification about classes being suspended tomorrow.” Others were in disbelief, saying, “I just finished work and we’re not closing! Is this really happening in Wuhan?” and “I’ve been working all day and I’m still at work. Only now did I see the news about ‘suspension of classes and businesses in Wuhan.’ Are we off tomorrow?”
In addition to Wuhan, the Xianning Meteorological Observatory issued a red rainstorm warning at 8:36 on May 24th, stating that the highest precipitation in the past 3 hours was 128.5 millimeters in Shahu Town. It is forecasted that heavy rainfall will continue over most townships and streets in the next 3 hours, with cumulative rainfall reaching levels of heavy rain and above, accompanied by thunderstorms, gusts above 8 on the Beaufort scale, and high risks of flooding in small to medium-sized rivers and urban-rural areas.
At 15:40 that afternoon, the Hubei Provincial Meteorological Observatory issued an orange provincial-level rainstorm warning, predicting heavy to severe rain in Enshi, southern Yichang, Jingzhou, Jingmen, Xiaogan, Qianjiang, Tianmen, Xianning, Wuhan, Huanggang, Huangshi, Ezhou, and Xianning from tonight to tomorrow during the day. Portions of Jingzhou, Xiaogan, Wuhan, Xianning, Huanggang, and northern Xiangning may experience severe rain, localized extremely heavy rain, and strong convective weather with thunderstorms and strong winds (8-10 on the Beaufort scale, locally above 11) and other extreme weather conditions.
Furthermore, early on the 24th, the China Meteorological Administration continued to issue yellow rainstorm warnings, forecasting that for the next two days, parts of Chongqing, Hunan, Hubei, Henan, Jiangxi, Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Tibet may experience heavy to severe rain, with localized heavy rain.