9
SUNDAY, JANUARY 19, 1986
A SPELL OF FINE AND SUNNY WEATHER LASTING 13 DAYS WAS
EXPERIENCED IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE MONTH. NO MEASURABLE RAINFALL WAS RECORDED FOR 20 DAYS IN THE MONTH. THE TOTAL RAINFALL OF THE MONTH AMOUNTED TO ONLY ONE THIRD OF THE NORMAL VALUE.
JUNE WAS MUCH CLOUDIER THAN USUAL. THE MEAN ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE RANKED THE LOWEST ON RECORD FOR JUNE.
TYPHOON HAL CAME WITHIN 400 NAUTICAL MILES OF HONG KONG ON JUNE 22 AND IT WAS NECESSARY TO HOIST TROPICAL CYCLONE WARNING SIGNALS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE YEAR. GALE FORCE NORTHWEST WINDS WERE EXPERIENCED OFFSHORE IN HONG KONG WITH THE APPROACH OF TYPHOON HAL. SQUALLY THUNDERSTORMS AND HEAVY SHOWERS OCCURRED EARLY ON
JUNE 25 AS HAL MOVED INLAND.
MORE THAN HALF OF THE MONTH'S TOTAL RAINFALL WAS ATTRIBUTED TO THE DOWNPOUR ON JUNE 25 AND THE SITUATION REQUIRED THE ISSUANCE OF THE LANDSLIP WARNING.
LAND, SEA AND AIR TRAFFIC WAS DISRUPTED AND THERE WERE FLOODING AND MINOR LANDSLIPS IN VARIOUS PARTS OF THE TERRITORY.
AT THE AIRPORT, 11 FLIGHTS WERE CANCELLED, 26 DELAYED AND ONE DIVERTED.
JULY WAS THE THIRD CONSECUTIVE MONTH WITH LESS THAN NORMAL RAINFALL.
THE STANDBY SIGNAL, NO. 1, WAS HOISTED FOR LESS THAN A DAY ON JULY 8 AS THE TROPICAL DEPRESSION OVER THE SOUTH CHINA SEA TURNED NORTHWARDS AND ACCELERATED TOWARDS THE SOUTH CHINA COAST TO THE EAST OF HONG KONG.
OVER 200 MM OF RAINFALL WERE RECORDED IN SHA TIN DURING THE HEAVY SHOWERS AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ON THE EARLY MORNING OF JULY 9, CAUSING SERIOUS FLOODING AND MINOR LANDSLIPS IN THE REGION.
THE THIRD REPORT OF HAIL OCCURRENCE IN THE YEAR WAS ON JULY 26 AND IT WAS ASSOCIATED WITH THE SQUALLY THUNDERSTORMS IN THE ACTIVE SOUTHWEST MONSOON. THE SIZE OF HAILSTONES WAS REPORTED TO BE ABOUT 2 MM IN DIAMETER.
AUGUST WAS WETTER AND CLOUDIER THAN USUAL. THE TOTAL RAINFALL WAS 21 PER CENT ABOVE NORMAL. MOST OF THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRED IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE MONTH. IN PARTICULAR, THE SPELL OF RAINY WEATHER IN THE LAST WEEK OF THE MONTH CONTRIBUTED MORE THAN HALF OF THE MONTH'S TOTAL RAINFALL.
SEPTEMBER WAS COOLER, CLOUDIER AND MORE HUMID THAN USUAL. THE MEAN MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 29.0 DEGREES CELSIUS WAS 1.5 DEGREES CELSIUS BELOW NORMAL AND RANKED THE NINTH LOWEST ON RECORD FOR SEPTEMBER.
/TYPHOON TESS
Page 10Page 11