The Weather of February 2026 - An exceptionally warm February
3 March 2026
With the northeast monsoon over southern China generally weaker than normal for most of the time in the month, February 2026 was unseasonably warm in Hong Kong. The monthly mean temperature of 20.1 degrees was 3.0 degrees above the normal and one of the second highest on record for February. The monthly mean maximum temperature of 22.9 degrees and monthly mean minimum temperature of 18.1 degrees were 3.5 degrees and 2.8 degrees above their corresponding normals and both were the third highest on record for February. Together with the well above normal temperatures in December 2025 and warmer than usual weather in January 2026, Hong Kong experienced the warmest winter on record from December 2025 to February 2026 with the winter mean temperature reaching 19.3 degrees, 2.0 degrees above the normal. The mean maximum temperature of 21.9 degrees and mean minimum temperature of 17.3 were also the highest and the second highest on record for the same period. Moreover, there were only 5 cold days this winter, one of the third lowest on record. Mainly attributing to the rainfall brought by a trough of low pressure on the last day of the month, the month was slightly wetter than usual. The total rainfall in the month was 41.6 millimetres, about 7 percent above the normal of 38.9 millimetres. The accumulated rainfall recorded in the first two months of the year was 44.8 millimetres, about 38 percent below the normal of 71.9 millimetres for the same period.
Under the influence of the northeast monsoon and a band of clouds, the weather in Hong Kong was mainly cloudy on the first day of the month. It was cold with one or two rain patches in the morning, with the temperature at the Hong Kong Observatory falling to the month’s lowest of 12.0 degrees. Except for the mainly cloudy weather on 3 February under the influence of an easterly airstream and a band of clouds, the local weather was generally fine on both 2 February and 4 February as the cloud bands thinned out. With the moderation of the easterly airstream, local winds weakened on the next two days. The weather was generally fine and warm during the day, though visibility was relatively low in some areas.
A cold front moved across the coast of Guangdong on the morning of 7 February. Meanwhile, a band of clouds also covered the coastal areas. Locally, it was mainly cloudy with a few light rain patches. Temperatures over most parts of the territory in the afternoon were five to seven degrees lower than those on 6 February. Under the influence of the associated northeast monsoon, the weather remained mainly cloudy with cool mornings on 8 – 10 February. It was also dry during the day on 8 – 9 February. With the moderation of the northeast monsoon and the thinning out of the cloud band, it turned mainly fine and warm during the day on 11 February. Under the influence of an easterly airstream, the weather became mainly cloudy again the next day. It turned generally fine and warm during the day on 13 February as the easterly airstream moderated. Winds were weak over Guangdong on 14 – 16 February. Apart from coastal mist on the morning of 14 February, the local weather was generally fine and rather warm during the day. The maximum temperature recorded at the Observatory was 26.9 degrees on 15 February, equaling the highest record on the 28th day of the 12th lunar month. The minimum temperature recorded at the Observatory was 22.0 degrees on 16 February, the highest on record for Lunar New Year's Eve. The temperature at the Observatory further rose to a maximum of 27.9 degrees in the afternoon, the highest of the month and also the highest on record for Lunar New Year’s Eve.
With a cold front moving across the coast of Guangdong on the morning of Lunar New Year’s Day and a band of clouds covering southern China, the local weather turned cloudy with one or two light rain patches. Visibility was rather low in some areas. The weather became cooler with daytime temperatures generally seven to nine degrees lower than those on Lunar New Year’s Eve. Under the influence of the associated northeast monsoon and with the cloud band thinning out, local weather turned mainly fine and dry during the day on the following two days. With the moderation of the northeast monsoon, local winds weakened on 20 – 22 February. The weather was generally fine and warm during the day. Visibility was relatively low in some areas on 21 – 22 February. An easterly airstream brought relatively humid weather to the coast of Guangdong on the next four days. Locally, it was warm with sunny intervals during the day. There was coastal fog on the mornings of 24 – 25 February, with visibility at Waglan Island once falling below 1000 metres. With a trough of low pressure edging closer to the coast of southern China, there were a few rain patches over the territory from the night of 26 February through the following day. There was also coastal fog on the morning of 27 February, with visibility at Waglan Island once falling below 500 metres. Under the influence of the trough of low pressure and a strong easterly airstream, it was cloudy with occasional showers on the last day of the month, with more than 20 millimetres of rainfall recorded over most parts of the territory.
One tropical cyclone occurred over the South China Sea and the western North Pacific in February 2026.
With the northeast monsoon over southern China generally weaker than normal for most of the time in the month, February 2026 was unseasonably warm in Hong Kong. The monthly mean temperature of 20.1 degrees was 3.0 degrees above the normal and one of the second highest on record for February. The monthly mean maximum temperature of 22.9 degrees and monthly mean minimum temperature of 18.1 degrees were 3.5 degrees and 2.8 degrees above their corresponding normals and both were the third highest on record for February. Together with the well above normal temperatures in December 2025 and warmer than usual weather in January 2026, Hong Kong experienced the warmest winter on record from December 2025 to February 2026 with the winter mean temperature reaching 19.3 degrees, 2.0 degrees above the normal. The mean maximum temperature of 21.9 degrees and mean minimum temperature of 17.3 were also the highest and the second highest on record for the same period. Moreover, there were only 5 cold days this winter, one of the third lowest on record. Mainly attributing to the rainfall brought by a trough of low pressure on the last day of the month, the month was slightly wetter than usual. The total rainfall in the month was 41.6 millimetres, about 7 percent above the normal of 38.9 millimetres. The accumulated rainfall recorded in the first two months of the year was 44.8 millimetres, about 38 percent below the normal of 71.9 millimetres for the same period.
Under the influence of the northeast monsoon and a band of clouds, the weather in Hong Kong was mainly cloudy on the first day of the month. It was cold with one or two rain patches in the morning, with the temperature at the Hong Kong Observatory falling to the month’s lowest of 12.0 degrees. Except for the mainly cloudy weather on 3 February under the influence of an easterly airstream and a band of clouds, the local weather was generally fine on both 2 February and 4 February as the cloud bands thinned out. With the moderation of the easterly airstream, local winds weakened on the next two days. The weather was generally fine and warm during the day, though visibility was relatively low in some areas.
A cold front moved across the coast of Guangdong on the morning of 7 February. Meanwhile, a band of clouds also covered the coastal areas. Locally, it was mainly cloudy with a few light rain patches. Temperatures over most parts of the territory in the afternoon were five to seven degrees lower than those on 6 February. Under the influence of the associated northeast monsoon, the weather remained mainly cloudy with cool mornings on 8 – 10 February. It was also dry during the day on 8 – 9 February. With the moderation of the northeast monsoon and the thinning out of the cloud band, it turned mainly fine and warm during the day on 11 February. Under the influence of an easterly airstream, the weather became mainly cloudy again the next day. It turned generally fine and warm during the day on 13 February as the easterly airstream moderated. Winds were weak over Guangdong on 14 – 16 February. Apart from coastal mist on the morning of 14 February, the local weather was generally fine and rather warm during the day. The maximum temperature recorded at the Observatory was 26.9 degrees on 15 February, equaling the highest record on the 28th day of the 12th lunar month. The minimum temperature recorded at the Observatory was 22.0 degrees on 16 February, the highest on record for Lunar New Year's Eve. The temperature at the Observatory further rose to a maximum of 27.9 degrees in the afternoon, the highest of the month and also the highest on record for Lunar New Year’s Eve.
With a cold front moving across the coast of Guangdong on the morning of Lunar New Year’s Day and a band of clouds covering southern China, the local weather turned cloudy with one or two light rain patches. Visibility was rather low in some areas. The weather became cooler with daytime temperatures generally seven to nine degrees lower than those on Lunar New Year’s Eve. Under the influence of the associated northeast monsoon and with the cloud band thinning out, local weather turned mainly fine and dry during the day on the following two days. With the moderation of the northeast monsoon, local winds weakened on 20 – 22 February. The weather was generally fine and warm during the day. Visibility was relatively low in some areas on 21 – 22 February. An easterly airstream brought relatively humid weather to the coast of Guangdong on the next four days. Locally, it was warm with sunny intervals during the day. There was coastal fog on the mornings of 24 – 25 February, with visibility at Waglan Island once falling below 1000 metres. With a trough of low pressure edging closer to the coast of southern China, there were a few rain patches over the territory from the night of 26 February through the following day. There was also coastal fog on the morning of 27 February, with visibility at Waglan Island once falling below 500 metres. Under the influence of the trough of low pressure and a strong easterly airstream, it was cloudy with occasional showers on the last day of the month, with more than 20 millimetres of rainfall recorded over most parts of the territory.
One tropical cyclone occurred over the South China Sea and the western North Pacific in February 2026.
Details of issuance and cancellation of various warnings/signals in the month are summarised in Tables 1.1 to 1.3. Monthly meteorological figures and departures from normal for February are tabulated in Table 2.
Warnings and Signals issued in February 2026
| Beginning Time | Ending Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Day/Month | HKT | Day/Month | HKT |
| 28 / 2 | 1110 | 1 / 3 | 1145 |
| Colour | Beginning Time | Ending Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day/Month | HKT | Day/Month | HKT | |
| Yellow | 1 / 2 | 1230 | 1 / 2 | 1900 |
| Yellow | 8 / 2 | 0600 | 8 / 2 | 2245 |
| Yellow | 18 / 2 | 0600 | 18 / 2 | 1930 |
| Yellow | 19 / 2 | 0600 | 19 / 2 | 1930 |
| Yellow | 22 / 2 | 0945 | 22 / 2 | 2030 |
| Beginning Time | Ending Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Day/Month | HKT | Day/Month | HKT |
| 1 / 2 | 0230 | 1 / 2 | 1500 |
| Meteorological Element | Figure of the Month | Departure from Normal* |
|---|---|---|
| Mean Daily Maximum Air Temperature | 22.9 degrees C | 3.5 degrees above normal |
| Mean Air Temperature | 20.1 degrees C | 3.0 degrees above normal |
| Mean Daily Minimum Air Temperature | 18.1 degrees C | 2.8 degrees above normal |
| Mean Dew Point Temperature | 15.6 degrees C | 2.4 degrees above normal |
| Mean Relative Humidity | 76 % | 3 % below normal |
| Mean Cloud Amount | 63 % | 9 % below normal |
| Total Rainfall | 41.6 mm | 2.7 mm above normal |
| Number of hours of Reduced VisibilityΔ | 0 hours | 100.3 hours below normal§ |
| Total Bright Sunshine Duration | 156.1 hours | 54.4 hours above normal |
| Mean Daily Global Solar Radiation | 13.97 Megajoule / square metre | 3.73 Megajoule above normal |
| Total Evaporation | 72.4 mm | 12.0 mm above normal |
| Remarks : | All measurements were made at the Hong Kong Observatory except sunshine, solar radiation and evaporation which were recorded at King's Park Meteorological Station and visibility which was observed at the Hong Kong International Airport. |
| Δ |
The visibility readings at the Hong Kong International Airport are based on hourly observations by professional meteorological observers in 2004 and before, and average readings over the 10-minute period before the clock hour of the visibility meter near the middle of the south runway from 2005 onwards. The change of the data source in 2005 is an improvement of the visibility assessment using instrumented observations following the international trend. |
* Departure from 1991 - 2020 climatological normal, except for number of hours of reduced visibility |
|
§ Departure from mean value between 1997 and 2025 |
|
| Remarks : | Extremely high: above 95th percentile Above normal: between 75th and 95th percentile Normal: between 25th and 75th percentile Below normal: between 5th and 25th percentile Extremely low: below 5th percentile Percentile and 5-day running average values are computed based on the data from 1991 to 2020 |
Extract of Meteorological Observations in Hong Kong for February 2026