[Quick News] Shanghai Metro Back to Normal Tomorrow As Dolphin's Warning Drops to Blue

Metro goes back to normal on Tuesday – with extra trains tonight for anyone still catching up

Shanghai Shentong Metro Group said the entire network will return to normal daily operation starting tomorrow – normal train frequency, normal speeds, normal first and last train times.

Previously suspended sections resumed operations at 3:45pm today, though ground-level and elevated sections are still running at reduced speed for the rest of tonight.

To help clear the backlog of people still trying to get home tonight, Metro Line 2 is running scheduled extra trains from Pudong Terminal 1 & 2 Station toward Zhongshan Park Station until midnight.

These extra trains only pick up passengers at Pudong Terminal 1 & 2 Station – Longyang Road, Century Avenue and People's Square are drop-off only, with no interchange service available.

Warning has eased to blue for the central urban area

The Shanghai Meteorological Bureau downgraded the central urban area's rainstorm warning from orange to blue at 5:30pm today.

That's a real improvement, but not an all-clear: Forecasters still expect more than 70 millimeters of rain in parts of the central urban area before tomorrow morning, with the risk of urban flooding from any remaining bursts of heavy rain.

How much rain and wind Shanghai actually took

From 8pm on Sunday to 2pm today, the city averaged 137.7mm of rain, with more than 80 percent of streets and towns getting over 100mm. Tinglin Town in suburban Jinshan Province topped the list at 289.1mm.

Wind was just as persistent: Nearly 70 percent of streets and towns saw gusts of force 7 or higher, strong enough to snap branches and make it hard to stay on your feet outdoors.

Qingpu District's Jinze Town hit force 11 – strong enough to snap or uproot small trees – the strongest reading of the storm.

Sustained winds of force 8 or above, gusts strong enough to make walking outdoors difficult and toss loose objects around, lasted a full 48 hours in the city, and weak tornadoes were reported in suburban Jinshan, Fengxian, Songjiang and Qingpu districts.

A first for Shanghai: pumping Suzhou Creek's water into the Huangpu River

To head off a rapid rise in Suzhou Creek's water level from the extreme rainfall, city agencies deployed emergency drainage crews and equipment along the creek by 10pm yesterday, then began forcibly pumping creek water into the Huangpu River at 11:30am today – something the city has never done before.

Fifteen portable high-volume pump units were mobilized, giving a combined drainage capacity of 30,000 cubic meters per hour, protecting 25 drainage systems and roughly 57.9 square kilometers along the creek.

Dolphin has moved well inland and keeps weakening

As of 4pm today, Dolphin's center was in Guangxin, in Jiangxi Province's Shangrao area – still a tropical storm, but expected to move slowly and keep losing strength.

Forecasters expect it to pass roughly the same latitude as Shanghai (about 600 kilometers away) sometime tomorrow night before moving further away.

Wind gusts on land had already dropped to force 7-9 by this afternoon – still strong enough to snap branches and make it hard to stay on your feet outdoors – expected to ease further to force 6 overnight.

Tomorrow: still some heavy rain possible in the southwest

Shanghai will be cloudy to overcast tomorrow with scattered showers or thunderstorms, heavier in the morning. Heavy to torrential rain is still possible in the southwestern part of the city, with 30-50mm likely in short bursts.

Temperatures will run 26-30 degrees Celsius, humid and a bit muggy around midday. Winds turn east to southeast at force 5, gusting 6-7 – enough to sway small branches and make umbrellas awkward to hold. Air quality is expected to stay good through the week.

Rain and cloud cover will linger into next week even after Dolphin fully clears the area, with occasional showers or thunderstorms through August 15 and highs climbing gradually to 31-33 degrees Celsius – no high temperature warning expected yet.