‘Eventful month for Singapore’s weather’ is over; expect dry warm days in Feb: MSS

Today Online 1 Feb 18;

SINGAPORE – Dress lightly, but keep a compact umbrella at hand when you head out. The first half of February is expected to be warm and dry, with a few wet weather days.

Temperatures could go as high as 34°C, the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) said in a weather update on Thursday (Feb 1).

While the prevailing North-east Monsoon is expected to continue, the first half of February is forecast to be "relatively dry with some warm days", the MSS added.

Still, short-duration thundery showers are expected in the afternoon on three to five days, though the rainfall for this period of the month is expected to be "below normal".

The MSS also advises the public to expect windy conditions with passing showers and cooler temperatures across the island on a few days. These conditions are brought about by a weak monsoon surge which the MSS says could affect the South China Sea and the surrounding region in the early part of the month.

Reviewing the weather pattern for the month of January, the MSS said it was an "eventful month for Singapore's weather".

The first week of January saw moderate to heavy thundery showers from three different weather systems –localised thunderstorms, Sumatra squalls and monsoon surges.

In the last week of the month, hailstones and a waterspout were observed on Jan 30 and 31 respectively.

The flash floods that occurred in several places in Singapore on Jan 8 were caused by a Sumatra squall which brought widespread thundery showers, with the eastern part of the island receiving the heaviest rainfall. The highest total daily rainfall recorded was 131.8mm in the Paya Lebar area, said the MSS.

The agency said that the unusually cool weather in the early parts of the month were caused by monsoon surge from Jan 10 to 14, which brought five consecutive days of cool weather. Temperatures dipped to as low as 21.2°C, which was recorded on Jan 14 at Admiralty and Jurong West.

"This was the longest cool spell in Singapore in the last 10 years," said the MSS. The highest temperature recorded for the month was 34.9°C.

The last two days of January saw intense thunderstorms which brought heavy rainfall with strong winds over many areas of the island. The MSS said hailstones were observed in parts of northern Singapore, "including Seletar and Yishun" on Jan 30. The following day saw not only fierce winds, but a waterspout off the east coast of Singapore.

The MSS said Singapore received "well above normal rainfall" for January. The highest rainfall of 502.4mm (119 per cent above average) was recorded at Paya Lebar. Rainfall was lowest around the Changi area where 272.6mm (16 per cent above average) was recorded.