XN000022-1996-02-10+11 — Page 7

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The weather of January

January was warmer than normal. The mean temperature of 17.8 degrees was the fifth highest for January. The mean minimum and mean maximum temperatures also ranked the fourth and eighth highest for the month.

While rain was recorded on 14 days, the total rainfall amounted to only 1:3 millimetres, 22.1 millimetres below normal. The sunshine duration of 134.4 hours was also 18 hours below the normal figure.

The cool, fine and dry weather at the end of 1995 continued in the first four days in the new year. Easterly winds freshened on the night of January 3 and cloud cover gradually increased the next day. Winds moderated on January 5 and a maritime airstream brought some light rain the next day.

A cold front accompanied by strong northerly winds passed the South China coast on the morning of January 8. For the next five days, temperatures stayed below 20 degrees.

Meanwhile, winds turned easterly on January 9 and freshened on the early morning of January 11 with light rain patches.

Fine weather returned two days later but was followed by cloudy conditions early on January 15. Cloudy weather with patches of light rain prevailed the next 10 days.

However, sunny periods on January 18 brought the temperature up to 24.1 degrees, the highest for the month, before the arrival of a weak replenishment of fresh cool northerly winds that evening.

As the winds subsided on January 22, it became hazy and visibility inside the harbour fell to 2,000 metres in the afternoon. A strong easterly airstream cleared the haze early on January 24.

Another northerly surge of the winter monsoon brought cooler air on January 25. Temperatures stayed well below 20 degrees for the next five days.

The lowest temperature for the month, 12.1 degrees, was recorded at the Royal Observatory on the morning of January 27. In the northern part of the New Territories, temperatures fell below 10 degrees.

Milder conditions returned as clouds over Hong Kong cleared on the last day of the month.