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November 2006 was unseasonably warm with an all-time high monthly mean temperature of 23.3 degrees. The monthly rainfall of 99.6 millimetres was about 184% above normal. The accumulated rainfall since January 1 was 2597.9 millimetres, about 19% above the normal of 2187.0 millimetres for the same period.
Under the combined effect of the northeast monsoon and Typhoon Cimaron, it was windy and dry on the first two days of the month. Fanned by the dry northerlies, the hill fire which occurred at Tai Lam Country Park on November 1 spread across an area of about 450 hectares and destroyed about 65,000 trees.
With a dry continental airstream prevailing over southern China, the weather remained generally fine and dry from November 3 to 12. The weather turned cloudy on November 13 when a broad cloud band associated with Tropical Storm Chebi covered the south China coastal areas. It remained mainly cloudy with a few rain patches in the following seven days.
A broad band of rain and thunderstorms affected southern China on November 21. Locally, the weather was overcast with heavy rain and squally thunderstorms. More than 100 millimetres of rainfall was recorded at Wu Kau Tang and Ma On Shan on that day.
The passage of a weak cold front on November 22 brought slightly cooler weather to Hong Kong. Another cold front moved across the coastal areas of Guangdong on November 27. The minimum temperature fell to 18.7 degrees at the Observatory on November 28, the lowest so far this autumn. The weather was mainly cloudy with a few rain patches from November 22 to 29. Sunny intervals returned when the clouds thinned out on November 30.
Three tropical cyclones occurred in the western North Pacific and the South China Sea in the month.
Details of the issuance and cancellation of various warnings/signals in the month are summarised in Table 1.1. Monthly meteorological figures and departures from normal of November are tabulated in Table 1.2.
Ends/Monday, December 4, 2006
Issued at HKT 16:12
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