November was unseasonably warm, with an all-time high monthly mean temperature of 23.3 degrees Celsius, the Hong Kong Observatory says.

The monthly rainfall of 99.6mm was about 184% above normal. Accumulated rainfall since January 1 was 2,597.9mm, about 19% above normal.

Under the combined effect of the northeast monsoon and Typhoon Cimaron, it was windy and dry on the first two days of the month. Fanned by dry northerlies, the hill fire in Tai Lam Country Park on November 1 spread across 450 hectares and destroyed 65,000 trees.

With a dry continental airstream prevailing over southern China, the weather remained generally fine and dry from November 3 to 12. It became overcast the next day when a broad cloud band associated with Tropical Storm Chebi covered the south China coastal areas, and remained mainly cloudy with a few rain patches for the following seven days.

Thunderstorms

A broad band of rain and thunderstorms affected southern China on November 21. The weather was overcast with heavy rain and squally thunderstorms, with more than 100mm of rainfall recorded at Wu Kau Tang and Ma On Shan.

The passage of a weak cold front on November 22 brought slightly cooler weather to Hong Kong. Another cold front moved across the coastal areas of Guangdong on November 27. The minimum temperature fell to 18.7 degrees Celsius at the Observatory on November 28, the lowest so far this autumn. The weather was mainly cloudy with a few rain patches from November 22 to 29. Sunny intervals returned when the clouds thinned out on November 30.

Three tropical cyclones occurred in the western North Pacific and the South China Sea in the month. Click here to read the details.