Mostly Afternoon Thundery Showers for Rest of March 2023

Singapore, 16 March 2023 – The Northeast Monsoon conditions prevailing over the region are forecast to persist into the second half of March 2023, with low-level winds blowing from the northwest or northeast.

2      In the coming fortnight, short-duration moderate to heavy thundery showers, induced by strong daytime heating of land areas and localised convergence of winds, are expected over parts of the island on most afternoons. On some occasions, the showers may extend into the evening. Overall, near average rainfall can be expected for the second half of March 2023, and the total rainfall for the month is likely be above average over most parts of the island.

3      During this period, the daily temperature is forecast to range between 24 degrees Celsius and 33 degrees Celsius on most days. A few days may be warmer, with daily maximum temperatures of around 34 degrees Celsius, when the winds are light and there is less cloud cover.

4       For updates of the daily weather forecast, please visit the MSS website (www.weather.gov.sg), NEA website (www.nea.gov.sg), or download the myENV app.

 

REVIEW (1 – 15 March 2023)

5      Northeast Monsoon conditions prevailed over Singapore and the surrounding region in the first fortnight of March 2023. The low-level winds blew from the northwest or northeast.

6      The first week of March 2023 was generally wet. The monsoon surge[1] that affected Singapore and the surrounding region on 28 February 2023 continued into 1 March 2023. On 3-4 March 2023, another monsoon surge brought widespread moderate to heavy rain over Singapore and the surrounding region. The second week of March 2023 was relatively dry compared to the first week of March 2023. Isolated showers fell over parts of the island on a few afternoons. The highest daily total rainfall in the first half of March 2023 was 104.4mm recorded at the Seng Kang area on 1 March 2023.

7      The monsoon surges also brought cool weather to Singapore in the first week of March 2023. There were three days where the highest daily maximum temperature was below 28 degrees Celsius. On 3 and 4 March 2023, the highest daily maximum temperature only reached 26.1 degrees Celsius at East Coast Parkway. The temperature at Newton dipped to 21.1 degrees Celsius during the monsoon surge on 1 March 2023. That was lowest daily minimum temperature for the first fortnight of March 2023.

8      Well above average rainfall was received across the island in the first half of March 2023. The highest anomaly of 211 per cent above average was recorded at Seng Kang. The anomaly was lowest around Tengah at 12 per cent above average.

 

[1] A monsoon surge refers to a strengthening of winds over the South China Sea, causing extensive rainclouds to form over our surrounding region. Read more at http://www.weather.gov.sg/learn_weather_systems/

 

 

CLIMATE STATION STATISTICS

Long-term Statistics for March
(Climatological reference period: 1991 – 2020)

Average daily maximum temperature: 32.2 °C
Average daily minimum temperature: 24.9 °C
Average monthly temperature: 27.8 °C
Average rainfall: 151.7 mm
Average number of rain days: 12

 

Historical Extremes for March
(Rainfall since 1869 and temperature since 1929)

Highest monthly mean daily maximum temperature: 34.1 °C (1998)
Lowest monthly mean daily minimum temperature: 22.1 °C (1934)
Highest monthly rainfall ever recorded: 528.3 mm (1913)
Lowest monthly rainfall ever recorded: 6.2 mm (2016)