SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1980
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JANUARY - DRY AND MILD
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HONG KONG WAS VERY DRY LAST MONTH (JANUARY) WITH ONLY 4.3 MM OF RAIN RECORDED. THE TOTAL RAINFALL FOR THE FOUR MONTHS FROM OCTOBER LAST YEAR TO JANUARY AMOUNTED TO ONLY 15.7 MM OR EIGHT PER CENT OF NORMAL, MAKING THIS THE DRIEST FOUR-MONTH PERIOD ON RECORD.
THE WEATHER IN JANUARY AS A WHOLE WAS MILDER THAN USUAL ALTHOUGH IT WAS VERY COLD AT THE END OF THE MONTH.
THE FIRST THREE DAYS OF THE MONTH WERE SUNNY AND MILD, BUT THE WEATHER TURNED CLOUDY ON JANUARY 4 WHEN A COLD FRONT OVER SOUTH CHINA MOVED SLOWLY TOWARDS THE SOUTH CHINA COAST. THE COLD FRONT PASSED THROUGH HONG KONG EARLY IN THE EVENING. AFTER ITS FRONTAL PASSAGE STRONG NORTHERLY WINDS WERE EXPERIENCED OFF-SHORE DURING THE NIGHT.
CONDITIONS IMPROVED ON JANUARY 6 AND THE FOLLOWING FIVE DAYS WERE MAINLY FINE. IT BECAME CLOUDY ON JANUARY 12 WHEN A COLD FRONT APPROACHED FROM THE NORTH AND PASSED THROUGH HONG KONG LATER IN THE DAY. IT REMAINED CLOUDY AND THERE WERE A FEW PATCHES OF LIGHT RAIN ON THE MORNING OF JANUARY 15.
FROM JANUARY 16 TO 20, THE WEATHER WAS MAINLY FINE APART FROM SOME RAIN ASSOCIATED WITH THE ARRIVAL OF A MINOR SURGE OF THE WINTER MONSOON ON THE MORNING OF JANUARY 17. STRONG EASTERLY WINDS WERE EXPERIENCED ON JANUARY 18 WHEN THE CENTRE OF AN ANTICYCLONE OVER CHINA MOVED OUT OVER THE YELLOW SEA.
ON JANUARY 20, A WEAK COLD FRONT PASSED THROUGH HONG KONG AND CONDITIONS BECAME CLOUDY AGAIN.
IT BECAME FINE AND SUNNY AGAIN ON JANUARY 23 AND 24 BUT THE FOLLOWING FIVE DAYS WERE CLOUDY AND MILD WHEN HONG KONG WAS UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF A WARM AND MOIST AIRSTREAM FROM THE PACIFIC. MIST AND FOG WERE EXPERIENCED FROM JANUARY 26 UNTIL THE ARRIVAL OF AN INTENSE COLD FRONT ON JANUARY 29. DURING THIS PERIOD, IT WAS RATHER WARM AND VISIBILITIES WERE REDUCED TO A MINIMUM OF 300 METRES AT KAI TAK AND 600 METRES ON WAGLAN ISLAND.
FOUR DIVERSIONS OF AIRCRAFT WERE REPORTED ALL ON JANUARY 28. THE MONTH'S HIGHEST TEMPERATURE OF 25.4 DEGREES WAS RECORDED ON THE AFTERNOON OF JANUARY 29.
THE PASSAGE OF THE INTENSE COLD FRONT DURING THE AFTERNOON OF JANUARY 29 CLEARED THE MIST AND FOG BUT CONDITIONS REMAINED OVERCAST AND VERY COLD FOR THE REST OF THE MONTH. THE STRONG NORTHERLY WINDS ASSOCIATED WITH THE COLD FRONT CAUSED AN EXTREMELY SHARP DROP OF MORE THAN 19 DEGREES WITHIN 40 HOURS. ON THE MORNING OF JANUARY 31, THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY RECORDED A TEMPERATURE OF 6.3 DEGREES CELSIUS, THE LOWEST IN THE MONTH. FROST WAS REPORTED AT TAI MO SHAN WHERE A MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF -3.7 DEGREES CELSIUS WAS RECORDED.
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