THURSDAY, MAY 19, 1983
RECORD JANUARY-TO-APRIL RAINFALL WAS 3.5 TIMES NORMAL ******
RAINFALL FROM JANUARY TO APRIL THIS YEAR -- TOTALLING 916.4 MM WAS THREE-AND-A-HALF TIMES NORMAL AND AN ALL-TIME RECORD FOR THE SIMILAR PERIOD, IT IS REPORTED BY THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY.
IN ITS MONTHLY REPORT, THE OBSERVATORY SAID APRIL WAS THE FOURTH MONTH THIS YEAR WITH ABOVE AVERAGE RAINFALL THE 171.1 MM RAINFALL FOR THE MONTH WAS 23 PER CENT ABOVE NORMAL.
AND, ALTHOUGH THERE WAS LESS SUNSHINE, APRIL WAS ALSO WARMER THAN USUAL.
THE WEATHER ON THE FIRST TWO DAYS WAS FINE APART FROM SOME LIGHT RAIN. IT TURNED CLOUDY WITH PATCHES OF LIGHT RAIN ON APRIL 3 AS WINDS FRESHENED FROM THE EAST AND BECAME STRONG AT TIMES IN SOME PLACES.
IT REMAINED CLOUDY WITH RAIN ON APRIL 4.
EASTERLY WINDS FRESHENED AGAIN ON APRIL 5 AND THERE WERE WIDESPREAD THUNDERSTORMS IN THE AFTERNOON.
HAILSTONES, SOME REPORTED TO HAVE DIAMETERS OF ABOUT 25 MM, WERE OBSERVED BETWEEN 3.30 PM AND 6 PM IN VARIOUS PARTS OF HONG KONG INCLUDING YUEN LONG, TAI MO SHAN, SHEUNG SHUI, TAI PO, SHA TIN AND SAI KUNG IN THE NEW TERRITORIES AS WELL AS WAN CHAI, HAPPY VALLEY AND CLOUD VIEW ROAD ON HONG KONG ISLAND.
SEVERAL SERIOUS TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS OCCURRED IN THE WET WEATHER.
WINDS BECAME STRONG OFF-SHORE AND IN EXPOSED PLACES AROUND MIDNIGHT BUT MODERATED THE FOLLOWING MORNING.
THERE WERE MORE THUNDERSTORMS IN THE MORNING AND SOME MIST PATCHES IN THE EVENING OF APRIL 6.
THUNDERY SHOWERS OCCURRED IN THE MORNING ON APRIL 7 AD THERE WERE ALSO SOME MIST PATCHES AND COASTAL FOG. HAIL WAS AGAIN OBSERVED IN THUNDERSTORMS DURING THE NIGHT AT CONNAUGHT ROAD ON HONG KONG ISLAND. THIS WAS THE SEVENTH DAY THIS YEAR ON WHICH HAIL WAS REPORTED IN HONG KONG.
FREQUENT THUNDERSTORMS AND HEAVY RAIN ON APRIL 8 RESULTED IN MORE THAN 200 REPORTS OF FLOODING IN VARIOUS PARTS OF HONG KONG.
ABOUT 500 HECTARES OF FARMLAND AND OVER 50 HECTARES OF FISH PONDS IN THE NORTHWESTERN PART OF THE NEW TERRITORIES WERE INUNDATED.
IN THE URBAN AREA, FLOODING WAS MOST SERIOUS AT SAI TAL TSUEN IN KOWLOON CITY WHERE FLOOD WATER WAS REPORTED TO SE ABOLT 1.5 M DEEP.