The Weather of November 2000

    November 2000 was cooler and wetter than usual. The mean temperature of 21.0 degrees was 0.4 degrees below normal and the mean daily maximum temperature of 22.9 degrees was 1.3 degrees below normal. The monthly maximum temperature of 26.5 degrees was the sixth lowest for November. The monthly total rainfall of 96.8 millimetres was more than double the normal figure of 35.1 millimetres. The accumulated rainfall from January to November amounted to 2 696.3 millimetres, 23 per cent above the normal of 2 187.0 millimetres for the same period. The monthly total bright sunshine duration of only 119.6 hours was the third lowest for November. During the passage of Bebinca, the Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal was hoisted for a duration of 89 hours, the longest in November.

    Strong northerly winds brought fine weather to Hong Kong on the first two days of the month. An 18-metre-tall tree in Kowloon Tong toppled in strong winds and damaged the fencing wall of a house. It was dry with relative humidities falling below 50 per cent in the afternoon. A hill fire covering an area of 1 000 metres by 800 metres broke out in Yuen Long. Winds moderated on 2 November and the weather remained fine and dry the next day.

    On 4 November, Severe Tropical Storm Bebinca over the South China Sea moved closer to the coast. It passed over the waters south of Hong Kong in the next three days and dissipated on the morning of 8 November over the coastal areas of western Guangdong. During its passage, Bebinca's outer rain bands brought some rain to the territory. Winds were also occasionally strong offshore on 7 November.

    It remained cloudy with light rain on 8 and 9 November. Clouds dispersed on 10 November and there were periods of sunshine.

    A surge of the northeast monsoon reached Hong Kong on 11 November. The weather became cool and cloudy with rain. These conditions continued the next day. With the moderation of the northeast monsoon, rain eased off on 13 November and there were sunny intervals during the day though it remained cool in the morning.

    It became fine the next two days. Long periods of sunshine raised the temperatures to a maximum of 26.5 degrees on 15 November, the highest in the month.

    A rain band over the coastal areas of Guangdong affected Hong Kong on the morning of 16 November. There were intervals of sunshine as the cloud layers thinned out during the day.

    Northerlies strengthened again on 17 November and the weather turned cloudy with light rain patches. Winds turned to easterly and moderated on 18 November.

    Another surge of the northeast monsoon reached Hong Kong on 19 November and the weather became cool and dry the next few days. Temperatures dropped to a minimum of 14.1 degrees on 21 November, the lowest in the month. As winds subsided, the weather turned sunny on 22 November.

    A ridge of high pressure over the southeastern part of China brought easterly winds to Hong Kong on 23 November. The weather became mainly fine apart from some light rain on 26 November. It became cloudy on 28 November and winds strengthened during the night. Winds moderated the next morning and mainly fine weather prevailed on the last two days of the month.

    Four tropical cyclones occurred over the South China Sea and the western North Pacific in the month.

    During the month, no aircraft was diverted due to adverse weather.