Initially, the intensity of the system was that of a weak tropical depression; however, it formed a new center while in the northern South China Sea west of Luzon soon after.

[1] York then weakened to a tropical storm and quickly degenerated into a remnant area of low pressure soon after on the following day.

A cargo ship reportedly sunk, 18,000 homes lost power in the wake of the storm and 4,000 trees were uprooted in Hong Kong.

On September 5, 1999, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) began monitoring an area of convection southeast of Guam.

The low pressure area slowly developed, however the organization of the wave was insufficient to be considered a tropical cyclone until September 10, when the JTWC issued a formation alert at 0300 UTC.

[2][3] York's track was relatively erratic,[5] and it remained nearly stationary on September 13, with the slow movement due to the weakening of a mid-level ridge over southern China.

[2] York began to move on a northwesterly course guided by a strengthening yet weak subtropical ridge over southern China on September 14.

Both the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) and Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) assessed it as a severe tropical storm.

[2] Consequently, the JTWC upgraded York to a typhoon at noon UTC, with the HKO following suit later with support of ground observations.

As the developing depression crossed the Philippines, it brought heavy showers of up to 400 mm (16 in), which caused some flooding in the Cagayan Valley.

Sustained hurricane-force winds were also recorded in Cheung Chau and Sai Kung, with storm-force sustained winds also recorded in Tsing Yi, North Point and Tsim Sha Tsui Ferry Pier, making York one of the strongest storms to affect Hong Kong after World War II, with impacts rivaling Typhoon Wanda of 1962 and Typhoon Mangkhut of 2018.

Both the HKO and Macao Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) issued the No.10 hurricane signal, which lasted 11 and 8.5 hours respectively, both post-WWII records in terms of length.

A tower crane collapsed and hit a nearby building in the same region, forcing 25 people to evacuate due to a suspected gas leak.