FRIDAY, MAY 8, 1992
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HIGHEST-EVER HOURLY RAINFALL RECORDED
THE HIGHEST-EVER HOURLY RAINFALL OF 110 MM WAS RECORDED IN HONG KONG BETWEEN 6 AM AND 7 AM THIS (FRIDAY) MORNING, THE ACTING DIRECTOR OF ROYAL OBSERVATORY (RO), MR ROBERT LAU, SAID.
14
HOUR MR LAU
"IT HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE. SO MUCH RAIN FALLEN IN ONE HAD CAUSED THE FLOODING AND TRAFFIC COMMOTIONS THIS MORNING, TOLD NEWSMEN AT A MEET-THE-MEDIA SESSION IN THE AFTERNOON.
RAIN ITS
"UNFORTUNATELY,
WE WERE NOT ABLE TO FORECAST EPISODE, NOT TO THIS EXTREME INTENSITY, NOT TO PRECISE TIMING TO BETWEEN 6 AND 7 AM," HE ADDED.
THIS DESPITE THE FACT THAT DURING THE WEEK,
INDICATED
IN A DETERIORATION
WEATHER.
OUTLOOK,
THIS TORRENTIAL HAVE PINPOINTED
THE RO HAS, IN ITS
"YESTERDAY WE FORECAST HEAVY RAIN FOR TODAY. LAST 11.15 PM, WE ISSUED A THUNDERSTORM WARNING. NONETHELESS, WE EVEN BY
5.30 AM THIS MORNING BE ABLE TO TELL THAT WE ARE OVER 100 MM BETWEEN 6 AND 7 O'CLOCK," HE SAID.
NIGHT, AT COULDN'T TO EXPECT
MR LAU ASSURED THAT NEXT TIME THE RO SHOULD BE ABLE TO FORECAST THIS TYPE OF RAIN AND CATCH THIS TYPE OF RECORD RAINFALL.
TO
"BUT THE COLD REALITY IS, PROBABLY EVEN THE BEST METEOROLOGICAL
EXTREME
AND RAINFALL OFFICE WOULD BE UNABLE TO FORECAST THIS PINPOINT
AN OF COMMENCEMENT TO WITHIN
HOUR," HE SAID.
THE
TIME
"AFTER THIS MORNING, WE HAVE TO DO A LOT TO IMPROVE OUR EXTREME MAY TAKE RAINFALL FORECASTING SKILL. IT MAY BE QUITE IMPOSSIBLE, IT TIME, BUT WE SHALL TRY OUR LEVEL BEST, THIS WE CAN BE RELIED UPON, SAID.
+
HE
MR LAU SAID THE EVENTS AT THE WEATHER OFFICE THIS MORNING ROUND ABOUT 6 O'CLOCK WERE ROUGHLY AS FOLLOWS:
BETWEEN
WERE RECORDED. MIDNIGHT AND 6 AM, ONLY 7 MM OF RAIN
BAND OF RAIN TOWARDS 6 AM
ON A WEATHER RADAR, THE RO COULD SEE A APPROACHING HONG KONG, FAST MOVING ONE AND AT THAT TIME THE ASSESSMENT WAS THAT IT PROBABLY WOULD YIELD 20 OR 30 MM
OF RAIN.
"STILL THE FORECASTER SAW FIT TO ALERT ME. WITHIN MINUTES I WAS OUT. THE AT THE FORECAST OFFICE AND BY 6 AM THE FLOOD WARNING WENT
TO NEXT CONSIDERATION THEN WAS THE LANDSLIP WARNING WHICH MEANT I HAD CONSULT THE PRINCIPAL GOVERNMENT GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEER."
BY 6.20 AM, THE LANDSLIP WARNING WAS ISSUED.
AS SOON AS THE DISSEMINATION OF THAT WAS COMPLETED, MR LAU SAID HE CONTACTED THE DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION ABOUT 6.40 AM.
/"IN CONSULTATION