Monthly Archives: May 2016

Short-duration thundery showers on most days

Advisory

Singapore, 16  May 2016 –  Inter-monsoon conditions are expected to prevail in the second half of May 2016. During the period, the prevailing light and variable low level winds are forecast to gradually strengthen to blow from the southeast or south-southwest.

2 In the next fortnight, Singapore is likely to experience short-duration thundery showers mostly in the late morning and afternoon on six to eight days. In addition, thundery showers with gusty winds due to Sumatra squalls can be expected in the morning on one or two days. The rainfall for May 2016 is expected to be average.

3 The warm conditions experienced in the first fortnight of May 2016 can still be expected on a few days in the second half of May 2016. However, the temperatures are not likely to be as high as that experienced in the first fortnight of the month due to the expected occurrence of showers on most days. For the rest of May 2016, the daily maximum temperatures are forecast to range between 33°C and 34°C on most days and could reach a high of around 35°C on a few days.

Review: 1 – 15 May 2016

4 Inter-monsoon conditions prevailed in first fortnight of May 2016. During the period, the prevailing low level winds were generally light and variable in direction.

5 During the review period, the first eleven days were generally warm where the highest daily maximum temperature ranged between 35°C and 36.1°C, with the highest temperature recorded at Seletar on 6 May 2016. As of 15 May 2016, the daily mean temperature recorded at the Changi climate station was 29.6°C, which is 1.3°C above the long-term mean for May.

6 The showers that fell over parts of the island in the afternoon on most days during the first fortnight of May 2016 were due to strong heating of land areas coupled with the convergence of winds over Singapore. The thundery showers on 11 May 2016 were particularly heavy with the highest daily rainfall of 99.8mm recorded. For the past four days, the showers that fell over many parts of the island brought some relief to the warm conditions, and the highest daily maximum temperature ranged between 31.8°C and 34.7°C.

7 About two-thirds of Singapore received above average rainfall in the first fortnight of May 2016. The highest rainfall of 192.4mm (83% above average) was recorded around Bukit Panjang. Rainfall was lowest around Changi where 25.8mm (67% below average) was recorded.

CLIMATE STATION STATISTICS FOR MAY (Climatological reference period: 1981 – 2010)

Singapore, 6 May 2016 – Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) has confirmed that April 2016 is the warmest April on record in Singapore, with a mean monthly temperature of 29.4 degrees Celsius. April 2016 also tied with May 1998 as the second warmest month on record. The warmest ever recorded month since 1929 was March 1998, with a mean monthly temperature of 29.5 Celsius.

2. The record temperatures in April 2016 are a continuation of the very warm conditions experienced this year. The strong El Nino that peaked at the end of 2015 has been a key contributing factor to the high temperatures. Collectively, the first four months of 2016 is the warmest ever January-April period since 2010, and the second warmest after 1998. The temperatures during that period in 2010 and 1998 were also strongly influenced by an El Nino.

3. For the first five days of May 2016, the daily average temperature recorded at the Changi climate station was 29.9 degrees Celsius, which is 1.6 degrees Celsius above the long-term mean for May. The current high temperatures are forecast to ease slightly over the weekend, and are expected to prevail again on a few days in the coming week.

4. For updates of the daily weather forecast, please visit our MSS website (https://www.weather.gov.sg), the NEA website (www.nea.gov.sg), via the myENV, or download the MSS Weather@SG app.