ENG-1965 — Page 289

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GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE

highest on record. (See Appendix XL for a comparison of Agnes with other storms.)

October was notable for the fact that there were no typhoons or tropical storms anywhere in the China Sea and yet the rainfall in Hong Kong was considerably more than average. Warm humid weather lasted later than usual in the autumn and, despite a lack of sunshine, temperatures remained above normal during October, while November was the warmest on record. Tropical storm Elaine developed off the east coast of Vietnam on 8th November and moved in a northerly direction. There were strong winds and some unseasonable rainfall in Hong Kong on 10th-12th November, but the storm died out before it reached the China coast. The warm humid weather persisted during the first half of December but a vigorous cold front on 16th December brought a sharp drop in temperature. The lowest temperature of the year, 7.3°C, was recorded early on 18th December. There was a short spell of warmer weather with some fog on 23rd December, but another cold front on 24th December caused a further drop in temperature and weather re- mained generally cloudy and cold until the end of the year.