People planning Chinese New Year house visits this week may want to leave their umbrellas at home and apply some sunscreen.

The Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) has forecast that the first two weeks of the month will see a continuation of the dry weather from the previous two weeks.

"Warm conditions can be expected during the daytime on some days due to light winds, few clouds and solar heating of land areas," the MSS said, adding that February is the driest month of the year.

Daily temperatures are forecast to range between 24 deg C and 33 deg C on most days. On days with little to no rainfall, the daily maximum temperature could climb to a high of around 34 deg C.

Prevailing north-east monsoon conditions are expected to persist, the MSS said, with winds blowing predominantly from the north or north-east.

Compared with the occasional breezy conditions experienced last month, winds for the fortnight that started on Feb 1 are expected to be weaker.

While last month saw mean wind speeds between 15kmh and 30kmh, speeds in the first two weeks of this month will go up to only 20kmh.

During this period, localised short thundery showers can be expected in the afternoon on four to six days. Rainfall for the first half of the month is expected to be normal.

For more information on the weather, go to www.weather.gov.sg

Tee Zhuo