There is rare hail in Hong Kong today (16th). The Observatory said this afternoon that there was a report of hail in Tseung Kwan O at about 1:00 pm. It is expected that Hong Kong may continue to be affected by hail in the short term.
Looking at the data, since 1967, Hong Kong has recorded a total of 40 days of hail falling, of which only two occurred in September, in 1983 and 2003.
Liang Rongwu, former assistant director of the Observatory and spokesperson for the Meteorological Society, believes that hail is a rare phenomenon. It is more common in the past than around April and may occur when there is strong convection.
He said that the main cause of hail falling today is first of all the hot weather. Some areas in the New Territories are as high as 34 degrees Celsius. Under the influence of tropical cyclone Chanthu, the north-south air currents meet, or hail is further promoted.
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The Observatory issued a special weather alert at 1:22 pm, stating that there was a hail report in Tseung Kwan O at about 1:22 pm. It is expected that Hong Kong may continue to be affected by hail in the short term.
Looking through the information, the last time Hong Kong had a hail fell in 2016.
Since 1967, there have been a total of 40 hail reports in Hong Kong, of which only two occurred in September, in 1983 and 2003.
The weather in Tseung Kwan O dropped sharply (screenshot from the Observatory)
Temperature drops by 7 degrees in Tseung Kwan O during hail and heavy rain
Looking at the Observatory's data, the highest temperature recorded in Tseung Kwan O today was about 32 degrees. By 12 noon, the temperature was still over 31 degrees.
However, with heavy rain and hail, the temperature dropped sharply to about 24 degrees by 1 pm, that is, within an hour, the temperature dropped by 7 degrees.
The weather in Tseung Kwan O deteriorated sharply. In addition to hail, lightning also appeared (photo by Ni Qingjiang)
The prerequisite for hail is hot weather combined with multiple factors.
Liang Rongwu said that hail falling is a rare phenomenon, which usually occurs when there is strong convection. It is more common in Hong Kong around April because of low pressure troughs.
Regarding the hail falling today, he explained that the first prerequisite is that the weather is hot, up to 34 degrees in parts of the New Territories, and the temperature in inland areas such as Shenzhen can reach 35 degrees at any time. When the air rises at high temperatures, the moisture rises and condenses into ice particles.
He said that it was raining and damp today, which helped hail.
Liang Rongwu continued to point out that hail is an extreme weather, which usually occurs only in combination with multiple factors. However, it is estimated that it may also be related to the tropical cyclone "Sandu", which was once a super typhoon.
He explained that although "Sandu" is far away from Hong Kong, it is possible that the air currents from the north and the south will meet, and then the air will also rise, prompting the appearance of hail.
However, he added that there are still many possibilities to cause hail to fall, and it is difficult to generalize. After the ground temperature turns colder, it is believed that the hail fall will not last too long.
Liang Rongwu, former assistant director of the observatory.
(Profile picture)
The director of the Hong Kong Underground Observatory, Fang Zhigang, explained that today’s showers were only concentrated in Sai Kung and Tseung Kwan O. The maximum hourly rainfall was 99 mm. Due to active convection, red rain areas appeared on the radar chart, so hail is also normal.
He continued that heavy rain and hail occurred more often than in spring and summer, but they also occurred in summer and autumn.
Observatory: Hail in September occurs once in more than 10 years
The Acting Senior Scientific Director of the Observatory, Jiang Wei, said that the report of hail falling was received at about 1 o'clock today. Due to the unstable atmosphere and the clear weather this morning, "underground sun was relatively hot." After that, the high temperature triggered thunderstorms and generated strong convective activities. Cause hail.
He said that although hail is rarely seen in September, it has not happened before. It has happened once in more than 10 years.
He also said that today's rain areas are concentrated in Tseung Kwan O, and the Observatory will monitor the development of rain areas and assess whether it will spread to other areas.
Hail in Tseung Kwan O | Hail reports from the Observatory are expected to continue to be affected by hail in Hong Kong in the short term 32 degrees weather traffic | The showers lasted until the weekend. The highest temperature today is about 32 degrees. The Observatory expects three-day showers and thunderstorms from tomorrow. There will be no coolness in the autumnal equinox next Thursday, or 35 degrees high
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