No. 14
87.
HONGKONG.
ANNUAL WEATHER REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE OBSERVATORY FOR 1886.
Presented to the Legislative Council, by Command of His Excellency
the Officer Administering the Government,
on the 4th March, 1887.
275
ANNUAL WEATHER REPORT FOR 1886.
At the end of January the NE monsoon increased and blew with the force of a whole gale in the China Sea as far south as +8° latitude, at the same time it blew a gale along the southern coast of China and the barometer fell since the 30th of that month. On the night between the 3rd and the 4th of February it blew a whole gale in Hongkong. In March the height of the NE monsoon seems to have been unusually small. The direction of the wind at Victoria Peak was more different from its direction at sea level than is usual during this month, the direction, of course, veering with increasing height, and the lower level of the clouds was nearly every day below 2000 feet. Fog prevailed, the clouds frequently sinking to sea level. At the same time the temperature fell less than half the usual amount with increasing elevation in the air. This may perhaps throw some light on the fact that explorers in certain tropical regions have attributed so very small dimensions to the NE monsoon.
The amount of rain during the summer fell short of the usual quantity during every month except July, when the excess was due to the heavy thunderstorms on the 15th. This is very striking on comparing the monthly rainfall at Stone Cutters' Island with the mean of nine years' rainfall (1878- 1886 incl.):-
Month.
Rainfall.
Mean.
1886.
Excess above mean.
January,
0.80
2.05
+ 1.25
February,
1.71
1.40
-
0.31
March,
3.65
1.26
2.39
April,
6.63
3.77
2.86
May,
..10.66
2.59
8.07.
June,
.13.66
10.02
3.64
July,
.16.83
28.62
+11.79
August,
.17.50
8.12
9.38
September,
9.73.
3.28
6.45
October.....
5.45
3.11
2.34
November,
1.10
0.00
1.10
December,
0.43
1.16
+ 0.73
Year,.......
-88.15
65.38
22.77
At the Observatory the cisterns of the barograph and the standard barometer are placed 110 feet above Mean Sea Level. The bulbs of the thermometers are 109 feet above Mean Sea Level and 4 feet above the ground except the terrestrial radiation thermometer, which is about one inch above the ground. The rim of the pluviograph, which is 11 inches in diameter, is placed 106 feet above Mean Sea Level and 21 inches above the ground. The cups of the anemograph are 150 feet above Mean Sea Level and 45 feet above the ground.
At Victoria Peak the instruments, except the radiation thermometers and the rain-gauge, are placed in the look-out. The cistern of the barometer is 1816 feet above Mean Sea Level. The bulbs of the thermometers are about 4 feet above the floor, except the maximum thermometer, which is a few inches higher. The radiation thermometers are placed at the same height above the ground as at the Obser- vatory. The rim of the rain-gauge is 8 inches in diameter and is one foot above the ground.
At Stone Cutters' Island the rim of the rain-gauge is 8 inches in diameter and is placed 2 feet 4 inches above the ground and about 15 feet above Sea Level.
The Monthly Weather Reports are arranged as follows:-
Table I exhibits the hourly readings of the barometer reduced to 32°.0 Fahrenheit, but not to sea level, as measured (at two minutes to the hour named) from the barograms.