More warm days ahead for rest of March

Expect the rest of the month to remain warm, the weatherman said on Monday.

The daily maximum temperature on most days is forecast to be around 34 deg C and could reach a high of 36 deg C on a few days, said the National Environment Agency's Meteorological Service Singapore.

Rainfall for the whole of March is also forecast to be lower than normal over most parts of Singapore.

This is despite the short moderate to heavy thundery showers that can still be expected over some parts of Singapore in the afternoon on some days in the second half of this month.

On one or two days during this period, the thundery showers could extend into the evening.

The thundery showers are due to strong solar heating of the land and convergence of winds in the surrounding vicinity.

Low-level winds from the north-east or east are expected to persist for the rest of the month.

The winds are expected to gradually weaken to become light and variable in direction around the end of the month.

As for the first half of this month, it was generally warm and dry, with north-east monsoon conditions prevailing.

The daily maximum temperature recorded on all days, except on March 5 and 6, was at least 34 deg C. The temperature was above 35 deg C on five days, with the highest daily maximum of 36.3 deg C recorded in Paya Lebar last Friday.

However, there were also several days of thundery showers that brought relief from the warm and humid weather.

Showers were heaviest on March 5 afternoon. These showers were induced by strong solar heating of the land, coupled with localised wind convergence.

The daily total rainfall on March 5 was 76.4mm in Tuas, the highest recorded in the first half of the month.

Most parts of Singapore saw below-average rainfall in the first two weeks. The rainfall in Sentosa was 75 per cent below average, while that recorded in Ulu Pandan was 15 per cent above average.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 18, 2020, with the headline More warm days ahead for rest of March. Subscribe