XN000022-1982-05-16 — Page 5

SUNDAY, MAY 16, 1982

APRIL THUNDERSTORMS BRING MUCH-NEEDED RAINFALL

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THUNDERSTORMS AND HEAVY SHOWERS DURING THE LAST NINE DAYS OF APRIL BROUGHT 310 MM OF MUCH-NEEDED RAINFALL, MAKING IT THE SEVENTH WETTEST APRIL ON RECORD, THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY SAID IN ITS MONTHLY WEATHER SUMMARY TODAY (SUNDAY).

THE ACCUMULATED RAINFALL SINCE JANUARY 1 WAS 379.7 MM, WHICH WAS 116.7 MM ABOVE NORMAL AND AT THE END OF THE MONTH, THE RESERVOIRS WERE 37 PER CENT FULL.

ALTHOUGH THERE WAS MORE THAN AVERAGE RAINFALL, THE MONTH WAS LESS HUMID THAN NORMAL WITH THE MEAN RELATIVE HUMIDITY OF 80 PER CENT, THE FIFTH LOWEST ON RECORD FOR APRIL.

THE MONTH WAS ALSO COOLER AND CLOUDIER THAN USUAL WITH TWO TROPICAL CYCLONES OVER THE WESTERN NORTH PACIFIC AND THE SOUTH CHINA SEA, ON APRIL 1, TYPHOON NELSON DISSIPATED NEAR NANSHA DAO WHILE ON APRIL 4, TYPHOON ODESSA DISSIPATED NEAR NORTH OF THE CAROLINE ISLANDS.

SOME RAIN WAS RECORDED EARLY ON APRIL 1 AS EASTERLY WINDS FRESHENED AND A MINOR LANDSLIP WAS REPORTED AT LAM TIN. THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRED ON THE AFTERNOON OF APRIL 2 BUT THE WEATHER IMPROVED LATER.

APART FROM SOME MORNING MIST, THE WEATHER ON APRIL 3 WAS FINE. A COLD FRONT ARRIVED IN THE EVENING AND CAUSED SOME RAIN THAT PERSISTED. UNTIL THE FOLLOWING DAY. NORTHERLY WINDS BROUGHT COOLER WEATHER ON APRIL 4 AND 5 AND THE AIR TEMPERATURE DROPPED TO 13,8 DEGREES CELSIUS ON APRIL 5, THE LOWEST OF THE MONTH. HOWEVER, THE WEATHER FROM APRIL 6 TO 8 WAS MAINLY FINE.

WINDS TURNED NORTHERLY AGAIN IN THE EVENING OF APRIL 8 BUT REVERTED TO EASTERLY NEXT DAY. ON APRIL 9 AND 10, IT WAS CLOUDY AND MILD, BUT CHANGED TO FINE AND SUNNY THE FOLLOWING EIGHT DAYS. HOWEVER, CONDITIONS ON APRIL 16 WERE DRY WITH A DAILY MEAN RELATIVE HUMIDITY OF ONLY 57 PER CENT, THE LOWEST OF THE MONTH.

EASTERLY WINDS FRESHENED ON APRIL 19 WITH SOME RAIN DURING THE NIGHT. IT REMAINED CLOUDY ON APRIL 20. SOME COASTAL MIST OCCURRED EARLY ON APRIL 21 BUT SUNNY WEATHER MADE IT THE HOTTEST DAY OF THE MONTH WITH A MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 28.6 DEGREES CELSIUS.

AN ACTIVE TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE BROUGHT DISTURBED WEATHER TO THE SOUTH CHINA COAST FROM APRIL 22 TO 30. THROUGHOUT THIS PERIOD, THE WEATHER IN HONG KONG WAS WET AND THUNDERY. THUNDERSTORMS AND VIOLENT SHOWERS OCCURRED DURING THE EVENING OF APRIL 22 AND CAUSED SEVERE FLOODING IN SEVERAL URBAN DISTRICTS. MINOR LANDSLIPS WERE REPORTED AT DIAMOND HILL, WONG TAI SIN, NGAU CHI WAN AND SHAM TSENG BUT THERE WERE NO CASUALTIES.

MORE THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRED EARLY ON APRIL 23 AND A WORKMAN WAS KILLED WHEN EARTH COLLAPSED AT A ROAD CONSTRUCTION SITE IN YUEN LONG. THUNDERSTORMS BECAME WIDESPREAD OVER HONG KONG ON APRIL 24 AND A MINOR LANDSLIP IN POKFULAM VILLAGE WAS CAUSED BY HEAVY SHOWERS ON APRIL 25.

/COASTAL FOG