Extreme weather can sometimes be confused with extreme climate. They are both the atmospheric conditions of a given region but for weather the period of time is short (days, weeks), as for the climate the period of time is long (years, decades). This week we are focusing on weather.
Examples of hazardous weather patterns are:
- Thunderstorms
- Tornadoes
- Waterspouts
- Blizzards
- Ice Storms
- Fog
- Drought
- Mountain Windstorms, Dust, & Sandstorns
As for Hong Kong, one of the extreme weather hazards it encounters is hail.
Hong Kong's latitude is considered to be low (22.3 degrees N). Hong Kong has experienced 25 occasions of hail during the years 1966 to 1996. This appears to be more common in the spring months when it is warm and humid as over 80 percent of these events took place during the months of March and April.
Moist air raises to the atmosphere cools down and eventually moisture condenses into water droplets. As the parcel of moist air rises further above the freezing level, some of the water droplets will condense on solid particles suspending in the air and form small ice pellets which develop into larger ice pellets. These ice pellets can grow to the size of hailstones.
On an event on April 19th, 1995 there where there were reports of hailstones 1 cm in diameter over a 10 km-wide area.
Hailstorms usually cause more property damage than casualties. It is recommended to not drive and to park your car somewhere where it can be as protected as possible. Inspect and have proper maintenance on your home's roof, keep trees well-trimmed, and listen to weather updates.
Sources
Armstrong, Luke. “How to Prevent Hail Damage and Prepare for Hail Storms.” RestorationMaster, 8 Apr. 2020, https://restorationmasterfinder.com/restoration/how-to-prepare-for-hail-storm/.
Keller, Edward A., et al. “Ch.9 Atmospheric Processes and Severe Weather.” Natural Hazards: Earth's Processes as Hazards, Disasters, and Catastrophes, Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, Abingdon, Oxon, 2016, pp. 305–306.
“Severe Weather in HK.” Hong Kong Observatory, https://www.hko.gov.hk/en/education/package/pack01_severe_wx/severewx.html.
Hey Emelyn,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I actually had no idea that Hong Kong had hail as a common extreme weather hazard. My country is Colombia and their harsh weather conditions are heat waves, droughts or floods. It is a really warm country. Thank you for sharing some awesome information.