XN000022-1981-01-15 — Page 5

THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 1981

FEBRUARY:

ALTHOUGH THE MEAN TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH WAS ONLY 1.9 DEGREES CELSIUS BELOW NORMAL, THE FIRST 10 DAYS WERE VERY COLD WITH DAILY MINIMUM TEMPERATURES RANGING FROM 5.5 TO 11.4 DEGREES CELSIUS. THE MEAN TEMPERATURE FOR THIS PERIOD WAS 9.9 DEGREES CELSIUS MAKING IT THE COLDEST 12-DAY PERIOD SINCE JANUARY 1900. FEBRUARY 9 WAS THE COLDEST DAY OF THE YEAR WHEN THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY RECORDED 5.5 DEGREES CELSIUS WHICH WAS THE LOWEST SINCE DECEMBER 14, 1975. THUNDERSTORMS WERE RECORDED ON FOUR OF THE LAST SIX DAYS OF THE MONTH AND A HAILSTORM WAS REPORTED ON FEBRUARY 27.

MARCH,

APART

MARCH WAS WARMER, CLOUDIER AND MORE HUMID THAN USUAL. FROM THE HAILSTORMS ON MARCH 5 AND 6, THERE WAS COASTAL FOG FROM MARCH 1 TO 9. THIS WAS THE LONGEST PERIOD OF CONSECUTIVE FOGGY DAYS AT WAGLAN ISLAND SINCE 1953. FOG WAS REPORTED INSIDE THE HARBOUR ON SIX OF THESE DAYS.

APRIL:

APRIL WAS LESS SUNNY AND CLOUDIER THAN USUAL. WIDESPREAD THUNDERSTORMS AND HEAVY SHOWERS OCCURRED ON APRIL 13. MIST AND FOG DEVELOPED BETWEEN APRIL 19 AND 22. THE STRONG MONSOON SIGNAL WAS HOISTED ON FIVE OCCASIONS.

MAY:

THE MONTH WAS COOLER WITH LESS SUNSHINE THAN USUAL. THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ON THE FIRST 11 DAYS BROUGHT 224.3 MM OF RAIN WHICH REPRESENTED MORE THAN 80 PER CENT OF THE MONTH'S TOTAL RAINFALL.

JUNE 1

DURING MOST OF JUNE, HONG KONG WAS UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF A PRONOUNCED AND PERSISTENT RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE FROM THE PACIFIC ANTICYCLONE AND AS A RESULT THE MONTH WAS MUCH SUNNIER AND HOTTER THAN USUAL. THE MONTH'S TOTAL RAINFALL OF 150.9 MM RANKS 10TH LOWEST ON RECORD FOR JUNE.

JULY:

JULY WAS HOTTER AND WETTER THAN USUAL. THE MONTH'S TOTAL RAINFALL OF 454.4 MM WAS 42 PER CENT ABOVE NORMAL. THE MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 35.0 DEGREES CELSIUS RECORDED ON JULY 10 WAS THE HIGHEST TEMPERATURE OF THE YEAR. THERE WERE FOUR TROPICAL CYCLONES FOR WHICH LOCAL WARNING SIGNALS WERE HOISTED.

AUGUST:

E