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the month of May, and it is only the second occasion on which the eye of a typhoon has passed over the Observatory.
On balance, the weather during May was exceptionally fine and dry, the total rainfall being 2.84 inches less than normal notwith- standing the contribution due to 'Alice'. The fine weather persisted through June which was the warmest and driest for 23 years. The maximum temperature of 92.8°F recorded on 30th June is the third highest June temperature on record.
Three tropical storms affected the Colony in July and there was more rain than usual. Local storm signals No 1 and No 3 were hoisted to give warning of strong winds associated with tropical storm 'Doris' on 1st July, and with tropical storm 'Flossie' on 19th July. No 1 signal was hoisted again on 12th July to give warning of tropical storm ‘Elsie' but no strong winds were caused locally by this storm. The three storms contributed 12.45 inches of rain to the monthly total of 19.37 inches.
The weather during August was typical of the time of year. Two heavy falls of rain were experienced, the first on 17th August brought 3.94 inches of rain in twelve hours and caused flooding in the Yuen Long district. The second fall occurred during a severe thunderstorm on 31st August when 3.79 inches of rain fell in the last four hours of the month; this downpour caused flooding and landslides in the urban areas, and resulted in the loss of three lives. A total of 18.19 inches of rain was recorded during the month against the normal amount of 14.30 inches.
September was exceptionally wet and dull with one and a half times the average rainfall and less than two-thirds of the normal hours of sunshine. No 1 local storm warning signal was hoisted at 12.45 p.m. on 8th September, to give warning of a storm centred 190 miles south-east of Hong Kong. No 3 signal followed at 5.15 p.m. On the 9th September the storm intensified to a severe tropical storm named 'Olga' and moved towards the Colony, and at 5.45 p.m. No 5 signal replaced No 3. The storm crossed the coast about 30 miles north-east of the harbour in the early hours of 10th September. No 6 signal was hoisted at 2.35 a.m. to give warning of south-westerly gales, and was replaced by No 3 at 8.10 a.m. and all signals were lowered at 1.10 p.m. Gale force winds with gusts of hurricane force were experienced all over the Colony, but the only serious wind damage was the sinking, in the harbour, of the