THURSDAY, AUGUST 12, 1976
JULY RAINFALL 15 PER CENT ABOVE NORMAL
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HEAVY RAIN ASSOCIATED WITH SEVERE TROPICAL STORM VIOLET LAST MONTH BROUGHT THE AMOUNT OF ACCUMULATED RAINFALL FOR THE FIRST SEVEN MONTHS TO 1,161.2 MM, ONLY 14 PER CENT BELOW THE AVERAGE FIGURE COMPARED WITH A 47 PER CENT DEFICIT FOR THE FIRST FIVE MONTHS.
ACCORDING TO THE LATEST MONTHLY WEATHER REPORT COMPILED BY THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY, THE RAINFALL FIGURE FOR JULY WAS 426.8 MM OR ABOUT 15 PER CENT ABOVE NORMAL. ALTHOUGH THERE WAS A SPELL OF FINE AND HOT WEATHER AROUND THE MIDDLE OF THE MONTH, THERE WAS LESS SUNSHINE THAN USUAL. OF THE FOUR TROPICAL CYCLONES THAT DEVELOPED IN JULY, ONLY SEVERE TROPICAL STORM VIOLET AFFECTED HONG KONG
TWO TYPHOONS
SALLY AND RUBY - BECAME EXTRATROPICAL OVER THE PACIFIC TO THE EAST OF JAPAN ON JULY 3 AND 4 RESPECTIVELY.
THE OTHER THREE TROPICAL CYCLONES TYPHOON THERESE, TYPHOON ANITA AND TROPICAL STORM WILDA - - STRUCK JAPAN WITHIN ONE WEEK AND CAUSED WIDESPREAD DAMAGE AND FLOODING IN KYUSHU,
VIOLET FIRST FORMED AS A TROPICAL DEPRESSION OVER THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE SOUTH CHINA SEA ON JULY 20 AND MOVED NORTHWESTWARDS AT ABOUT 7 KNOTS TOWARDS THE SOUTH CHINA COAST TO THE WEST OF HONG KONG, IT INTENSIFIED INTO A SEVERE TROPICAL STORM BY THE EVENING OF JULY 24. AFTER CHANGING COURSES SEVERAL TIMES, IT CROSSED THE COAST OF SOUTH CHINA ABOUT 150 MILES WESTSOUTHWEST OF HONG KONG EARLY ON THE MORNING OF JULY 26 AND GRADUALLY DEGENERATED INTO AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE.
AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MONTH, A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE REMAINED QUASI-STATIONARY NEAR THE SOUTH CHINA COAST AND THE WEATHER IN HONG KONG DURING THE FIRST FIVE DAYS WAS MAINLY CLOUDY WITH OCCASIONAL SHOWERS WHICH WERE HEAVY AND THUNDERY AT TIMES.
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A SPELL OF BRILLIANTLY FINE AND VERY HOT WEATHER WAS EXPERIENCED FROM JULY 15 21 WHEN AN AREA OF HIGH PRESSURE COVERED SOUTH CHINA. DURING THE AFTERNOON OF JULY 21, THE AIR TEMPERATURE REACHED A MAXIMUM OF 33.9 DEGREES CELSIUS WHICH WAS THE HIGHEST TEMPERATURE RECORDED DURING THE MONTH.
DUE TO THE INFLUENCE OF SEVERE TROPICAL STORM VIOLET, THE WEATHER IN HONG KONG BECAME CLOUDY WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS ON JULY 22 AND 23. AFTER VIOLET DISSIPATED OVERLAND ON JULY 27, THE SOUTHWEST MONSOON BECAME ACTIVE OVER THE NORTHERN PART OF THE SOUTH CHINA SEA AND THE WEATHER REMAINED UNSETTLED WITH OCCASIONAL SHOWERS FOR THE REST OF THE MONTH. ON THE MORNING OF JULY 30, THE AIR TEMPERATURE DROPPED TO A MINIMUM OF 24.4 DEGREES CELSIUS WHICH WAS THE LOWEST TEMPERATURE RECORDED DURING THE MONTH.
NO AIRCRAFT WERE DIVERTED FROM THE HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT DUE TO ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS AND NO FIRE DANGER WARNINGS WERE ISSUED.
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