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Weather of February
February this year was on the whole slightly cooler and drier than normal, a monthly weather report released today (Saturday) by the Royal Observatory said.
The mean air temperature of 15.1 degrees was 0.8 of a degree below normal.
Generally fine and dry weather occurred during the first 12 days of the month but cloudy and rainy conditions prevailed thereafter.
The monthly rainfall of 33.1 millimetres was 31 per cent below the February average. The rainfall for the first two months this year amounted to 54.2 millimetres, 24 per cent below the normal of 71.4 millimetres for the same period.
Under the influence of a northeasterly winter monsoon, the first day of the month was cold and cloudy. However, temperatures rose slightly during the next couple of days as winds turned to the east.
With the arrival of a northerly surge of the winter monsoon on February 4, the weather became sunny and very dry in the next two days during which a total of 120 hill fires were reported.
Daily minimum temperatures fell gradually and the month's lowest temperature of 10.4 degrees was recorded on the early morning of February 6.
It became progressively milder in the next three days. A fresh easterly airflow reached the coast of Guangdong early on February 10. Locally, a scaffolding was blown down in Happy Valley in high winds.
In the next couple of days, the easterlies moderated and the month's highest temperature of 22.3 degrees was reached on a sunny day on February 12.
A trough of low pressure over South China advanced southwards on February 13. As this trough traversed the coast that evening, local weather deteriorated with rain and thunderstorms.
Unsettled weather continued to affect the territory during the following morning but rain eased off in the afternoon. It stayed cloudy and cool with some rain from February 15 to 17.