Cyclones moving east to west not unheard of, says weather bureau

Tropical cyclones with a movement path from the west coast to the east coast of the Guangdong Province are not unheard of, the Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) suggested in a reply to an enquiry by the Times.
The recent meteorological system, named Lupit, which started near the west coast of the Guangdong Province on August 3, moved along the Southern Chinese coast and towards the east coast of the Province.
Public confusion has been expressed on social media platforms, with users questioning the uncommon, if not bizarre, trajectory of the tropical cyclone.
Nonetheless, the SMG noted that the last time a tropical cyclone with such a movement path was seen in its records was in 2012.
In that year, Severe Tropical Storm Talim formed near the east coast of Hainan Province, about 400 meters from Macau and in the middle of the South China Sea. It then moved towards the Taiwan Strait.
Tropical cyclones affecting Macau normally incubate on the open sea of the Western Pacific Ocean or the southeastern part of the South China Sea, before moving towards the coast of China.
To explain the scenario, the SMG stressed that the movement of tropical cyclones depends on several factors. The last three cyclones that triggered the hoisting of the No.10 signal in Macau, namely Severe Typhoon Hato, Super Typhoon Mangkhut and Typhoon Higos, had the more common paths, which were influenced by the easterly airstream to their south.
However, cyclones that form on the South China Sea will see irregular paths in the absence of an orienting airstream.
Considering the incubation location of Lupit, the seawater on the western coast of the Guangdong Province must have had a relatively high temperature. At the same time, vertical windshear around that area must also have been weak or even absent in order for a tropical cyclone to form successfully.
The SMG did not provide an answer on the question of how many times tropical cyclones with path or trajectory have been recorded in the history of the bureau, or as far back as it could trace.