SINGAPORE - The dry and warm weather experienced in the first two weeks of July is expected to persist for the rest of the month, the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) said on Monday evening (July 16).

Daily temperatures are expected to range between 24 deg C and 34 deg C for the next fortnight. But on days with little or no rain, the daily maximum temperature could reach a high of around 35 deg C.

Short thundery showers are expected on three to five days for the next two weeks. These showers are expected to take place mainly in the late morning and early afternoon.

Meanwhile, widespread thundery showers and gusty winds could hit most of Singapore on one or two days, between the predawn hours and early morning.

This is due to the passage of a Sumatra squall from the Strait of Malacca to the South China Sea. A squall is known as a violent gust of wind that could bring rain.

The overall rainfall in July is expected to be below normal for many parts of Singapore. About two-thirds of Singapore had received below-normal rainfall in the last two weeks.

This drier and warmer weather in the first half of July relative to the last two weeks of June is due to stable atmospheric conditions that prevailed over the southern South-east Asia region, said MSS.

The daily maximum temperature had ranged between 29 deg C and 33 deg C on most days in the last two weeks, and it hit a high of 34.4 deg C last Thursday.

The daily minimum temperature was around 24 deg C, but fell below 22 deg C on a few occasions during intense thunderstorms.