Black Rainstorm?

I touched down in HK earlier this week and I have to say that the biggest cultural barrier that keeps cropping up is the term black rainstorm. Sure, I could just google it, but that would ruin my constant childlike amusement at not knowing what it is, like when I thought Time Square was a cube that when activated using a secret code allowed the holder to travel through time solving awesome mysteries with a wise-cracking robot, and... I dunno... like, an ancient mystic talking snow monkey that gives semi-crazy-semi-sage-like advice to you? Yeah that will get a pilot. But imagine my disappointment when I found out that it was just a giant intersection that had a ginormous Hersey Candy Store, and a Toys R Us with Ferris wheel inside it. (Zero. The amount of disappointment I had was zero.)

I have now been told on six separate occasions that in case of a black rainstorm or type 8 typhoon I should run to the nearest shelter, contact a priest, and finalize my living will. Something like that. But this raises further questions for me. Like what is a type 8 typhoon? Why type 8? If type 1 through 7 show up I should just be like "Hmm...,"shrug it off and carry on with my day? Why not just start the typhoon rating system at 8? Make 8 the new 1 and then call everything else a light shower. These... these are the questions.

But back to the black rainstorm. With the name as my only indicator, I would guess that some awesome dark wizardish like character totally horcruxed the weather and then was all like "screw this noise" and shed his mortal body to live as pure magical villainy in cloud form. Hmmm... that sounded cooler in my head. Maybe, it is like the last weather related remnant of the storm that Noah built his arc for, and it comes back every now and again to remind us to shine our shoes and be good people. Or maybe it is when shop owners coordinate there biggest sales of the year (giving discounts of up to 80% off*) with an epic rainstorm, as a monument to consumerism and as a test to separate the wannabe value-shoppers from the true frugal-istas. Like Mewtwo did in the first pokemon movie. Or it could be something racist.

*select sale items only