- 21 -
The cold front crossed the coast of Guangdong on January 23 with squally showers affecting Hong Kong. Temperatures dropped a few degrees in one hour. A minimum temperature of 10.2 degrees, the lowest in the month, was recorded on both January 24 and 25.
Drier air from the north cleared the clouds gradually on January 26. Apart from some cloudy periods on January 30, fine and dry weather prevailed until the end of the month. Temperatures rose to 23.9 degrees, the highest in the month, on January 31.
Only one tropical cyclone occurred in the western North Pacific and the South China Sea in the month. Details of the issuance/hoisting and cancellation/lowering of various warnings/signals in the month are summarised in Table 1.1. Monthly meteorological figures and departures from normal of January are tabulated in Table
1.2.
Table 1.1 Warnings and Signals in January 1997
Beginning Time
Ending Time
Type of Warnings/Signals
day/month hour
day/month hour
Strong Monsoon Signals
21/1
2300
23/1
0630
23/1
2115
24/1
1000
Fire Danger Warnings
Yellow
1/1
0600
2/1
0615
Red
2/1
0615
2/1
1220
Yellow
5/1
0600
6/1
0600
Red
6/1
0600
6/1
1800
Yellow
6/1
1800
8/1
0600
Red
8/1
0600
8/1
1730
Yellow
8/1
1730
10/1
1800
Red
10/1
1800
12/1
0600
Yellow
12/1
0600
14/1
0600
Yellow
19/1
0600
19/1
1800
Yellow
24/1
0800
24/1
1615
Yellow
25/1
0605
27/1
0600
Red
27/1
0600
29/1
0600
Yellow
29/1
0600
31/1
0600
Gas Water Heater Safety Alerts
7/1
1630
12/1
1630
23/1
1630
27/1
1615