Frost Sighted at Tai Mo Shan Today

16 December 2010

Frost was observed by Observatory staff at the weather station in Tai Mo Shan this morning (16 December 2010).

An intense winter monsoon reached thecoast of Guangdongyesterday evening and brought cold weather to the region. Locally, temperature at the Observatory dropped to 8.1 degrees in the morning, the lowest recorded so far this winter. Temperatures at Tai Mo Shan were below the freezing point this morning.

Frost occurred once in a while in Hong Kong during the cool season from November to March. There were on average one to two days with reported frost in Hong Kong each year since records began in 1955. Frost was last reported in Fanling, the New Territories, on 11 March this year.

With the prevalence of the winter monsoon, cold weather will persist over south China in the next couple of days. Frost is also expected over the northern part of the New Territories and high ground tonight and tomorrow. For the latest weather information and 7-day weather forecast, please use the Observatory's Dial-a-Weather service (1878200) or visit the Observatory's website at:

RegionalWeather http://www.weather.gov.hk/wxinfo/currwx/current.htm

Local Weather Forecast http://www.weather.gov.hk/wxinfo/currwx/flw.htm

7-Day Weather Forecast http://www.weather.gov.hk/wxinfo/currwx/fnd.htm

Fig. 1: Frost on the Stevenson Screen of the Observatory weather station at Tai Mo Shan, 16 December 2010

Fig. 2: Frost on plants at Tai Mo Shan, 16 December 2010

Fig. 3 Grass covered with frost at Tai Mo Shan, 16 December 2010