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MY
Saturday, October 20, 1973
1973 WETTEST YEAR ON RECORD
The abnormally high rainfall recorded last month has made the
year 1973 the wettest year in the recorded history of Hong Kong.
It brought the rainfall total for the first nine months of
the year to 3086.4 mm which already exceeded the previous record
ennual rainfall of 3040.7 mm set in 1889.
According to the Royal Observatory, the total recorded rainfall
last month was 476.0 m which was 197.2 mm or 70 per cent above normal.
During the month two tropical cyclones
severe tropical storm
"Louise" and Typhoon "Marge" necessitated the hoisting of tropical
cyclone warning signals. Although no strong winds were experienced in
Hong Kong, "Marge" brought a total of 60.2 mm of rainfall between
September 13 and 15.
The strong monsoon signal was also hoisted twice because of
two surges of the winter monsoon towards the end of the month.
A total of 10 thunderstorms and heavy rain warninge was issued
during the month and 10 aircraft were diverted due to adverse weather
conditions.
A maximum temperature of 33.0 degrees Celsius was recorded on
September 12 and a minimum temperature of 22.8 degress Celsius on September 19.
A full report by the Royal Observatory on the weather of September 1973 is boxed for collection.
Note to Editors:
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