A bright February
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The weather on the first day of the month was mild with sunny periods. A freshening easterly airstream brought cloudier conditions and slightly cooler weather over the next two days. With the northeast monsoon moderating and a humid maritime airstream moving towards the coast of Guangdong, the weather was a mixture of sunshine, haze and mist with some rain patches on February 4 and 5. Easterly winds strengthened on February 6 and brought cloudier and slightly cooler weather to Hong Kong again over the next two days.
With a cold front moving across the coastal areas of Guangdong on the night of February 8, local winds from the north strengthened and temperatures fell significantly overnight. Under the influence of an intense winter monsoon following the passage of the cold front, the weather became cold and dry in the next three days. After a chilly morning on February 11, the lingering clouds finally cleared away and sunny weather persisted till February 18. With plenty of sunshine and the northeast monsoon subsiding, the weather became rather warm from February 16 to 18 as daytime temperatures climbed to around 25 degrees.
Affected by a moist maritime airstream, the weather turned generally cloudy with a few rain patches and relatively low visibility on February 19. Warm conditions returned the next day as the clouds thinned out and temperatures at the Hong Kong Observatory rose to a maximum of 25.5 degrees, the highest of the month. The maritime airstream also brought foggy weather to Hong Kong on the morning of February 21, with the visibility at Waglan Island once falling below 200 metres. Under the influence of a fresh to strong easterly airstream, the weather in Hong Kong turned cooler and cloudy with a few rain patches and thunderstorms on the morning of February 22.
Following the passage of a cold front on the morning of February 23, an intense northeast monsoon brought overcast skies, light rain patches and cold mornings to Hong Kong that persisted for the next three days. Temperatures at the Hong Kong Observatory fell to a minimum of 10.6 degrees on the morning of February 26, the lowest of the month. Under the influence of a dry continental airstream, there were sunny periods with cool mornings towards the end of the month.
There was no tropical cyclone over the South China Sea or the western North Pacific in February 2017.
Details of issuance and cancellation of various warnings/signals in February are summarised in Table 1. Monthly meteorological figures and departures from the normal for February are tabulated in Table 2.
Ends/Thursday, March 2, 2017
Issued at HKT 16:53
Issued at HKT 16:53
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