5
Weather of 1996
1996 was a warm year. The annual mean temperature of 23.3 degrees was the sixth highest on record.
It was also dry with a mean relative humidity of 76 per cent which ranked the fourth lowest. The year's total rainfall was near normal and amounted to 2,249.1 millimetres, only two per cent above the normal of 2 214.3 millimetres.
In the year, seven tropical cyclones necessitated the hoisting of local Tropical Cyclone Warning Signals as compared to the annual average figure of about six and the No. 8 Gale or Storm Signal was hoisted once.
January 1996 was warmer and cloudier than normal. The mean temperature of 17.8 degrees was the fifth highest for January. The month was also drier with total rainfall of only 1.3 millimetres which was 22.1 millimetres below normal.
Cold winter monsoon dominated most of February. Daily minimum temperatures of below 10 degrees were recorded each day from February 18 to 24, the sixth-longest cold spell recorded in February. The monthly total rainfall amounted to only 27.2 millimetres, 43 per cent below normal.
March was slightly warmer than normal. The monthly total rainfall amounted to 83.1 millimetres, 16.2 millimetres above normal. Nevertheless, the accumulated rainfall since January 1 was still 19 per cent below average.
It was cooler than normal in April and the minimum temperature of 10.9 degrees on April 3 was the third lowest recorded for the month. Three episodes of heavy rain contributed to most of the month's rainfall of 228.7 millimetres which was 67.2 millimetres above normal.
May was slightly cooler with near normal rainfall.
June 1996 was the hottest June on record. The mean temperature of 28.8 degrees equalled the previous record in 1977 and 1938. The monthly mean pressure of 1.008.8 hectopascals was the third-highest for June due to the dominance of the subtropical ridge over South China. Both the monthly total rainfall and the accumulated rainfall for the year were seven per cent above normal for the same periods.