The sun will shine during the first half of the Spring Festival holiday but rain and snow is expected to return from February 10, weathermen said yesterday.

 

The Shanghai Meteorogical Bureau said it had been hard to predict the intensity of the snow up to now, but as temperatures were relatively higher than last weekend, there should be no repeat of the deep snow which caused havoc on the roads.

 

Temperatures are expected to range between a maximum of four to six degrees Celsius and a minimum of zero degrees and two below.

 

There will be touches of fog in the early morning from tomorrow to Saturday, possibly affecting traffic during the Spring Festival transport peak. Pedestrians and drivers are warned to beware of black ice on the roads, said the bureau.

 

Today, the city will experience slight falls of rain and snow. Later, the sky will be overcast.

 

Visitors to the East China region are expected to enjoy good weather for at least the first half of the holiday, as cities such as Jinan, Fuzhou, Hefei, Nanjing, Hangzhou and Nanchang will be sunny with occasional clouds, said the bureau.

 

2007 Review

 

LAST year was the hottest year in Shanghai since records began.

 

Apart from the heat, the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau said 2007 had seen no major weather problems with relatively fewer adverse conditions than usual.

 

The 10 main weather phenomenons worth noting last year were:

 

Hottest yet

 

The average temperature for the year, both downtown and in the suburbs, was 17.8 degrees Celsius. That was the highest average temperature recorded in the city since records began in 1873.

 

Summer sizzles

 

In summer, the city had 30 days when the maximum temperatures was above 35 degrees, three times higher than the norm. On July 29, it reached 39.6 degrees, the third highest on record. From July 23 to August 3, the heat continued for 12 straight days.

 

Dry days

 

During the 27-day plum rain season, only 14 days had rain. And the city had nine days when the temperature exceeded 35 degrees.

 

Blowing in

 

Typhoons hit rather late. The two typhoons which seriously affected the city, Welpha and Krosa, didn't come until middle September and early October, causing a rainstorm.

 

Krosa was the strongest typhoon to hit in October in local weather history. Usually typhoons occur during June to early September in the city.

 

Thunderous

 

On March 31, hail, which normally hits in the summer, fell in Pudong, Nanhui and Fengxian. Thunderstorms were more frequent than usual in summer. On August 3, a strong thunderstorm hit the Shanghai International Circuit in Jiading.

 

The deluge

 

On August 5, eastern Shanghai had rainfall measuring more than 100 millimeters within two hours, while Chongming County had 92 millimeters in one hour, causing serious problems on the roads.

 

Big chill

 

A strong cold spell entered the city on March 3, with temperatures dropping by 12 degrees within two days. The strongest cold front of the year damaged some crops.

 

Dust bowl

 

On April 1, a duststorm hit the city, a result of sandstorms in northern China. This caused serious air pollution, and on that day the API index measuring the amount of inhalable particles in the air reached 500, creating a new record on the city's history.

 

Summer arrives

 

Last year the city stepped into summer on May 13, the earliest for the past 10 years, second only to 1997, when the city welcomed summer on May 11.

 

Cool running

 

A strong cold front meant a cool 10 days at the beginning of September. In most areas, the average temperature was the lowest seen since 1994.

 

(Shanghai Daily February 5, 2008)