Expect more wet weather in the first half of November, with some thundery showers

SINGAPORE - More wet weather can be expected in the first half of November, with thundery showers on a few days, the weatherman said on Friday (Nov 1).

This comes as the inter-monsoon conditions over the island since last month are expected to continue in November, said the National Environment Agency's Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS).

Low-level winds are forecast to be light and may temporarily blow from the south-west or west on a few days in the first half of the month.

Singapore can expect moderate to heavy thundery showers due to light winds and strong daytime heating of the land in the afternoon on six to eight days.

On one or two of these days, the showers could start in the late morning.

Early in the next two weeks, low-pressure systems over the Western Pacific Ocean and the northern South China Sea are forecast to bring a temporary shift in the winds to blow from the south-west or west over Singapore and the surrounding area.

This could result in Sumatra squalls over Singapore, bringing widespread thundery showers with occasional gusty winds in the early morning on one or two days.

Overall, the rainfall for the island in the first two weeks of November is likely to be near normal.

The daily temperature on most days is forecast to range between 24 and 34 deg C. On a few days, the daily maximum temperature could reach around 35 deg C.

There could also be a slight haze on a few mornings in the next two weeks, as particulate matter accumulates in the atmosphere under light wind conditions.

Such haziness usually improves in the later part of the morning as winds strengthen, which helps to disperse pollutants.

As for October, MSS said that there were thundery showers over Singapore on most days of the month. Moderate to heavy thundery showers affected Singapore mostly in the afternoon. On some days, the thundery showers extended into the evening.

The second half of October was also wetter than the first half of the month.

On Oct 27, following a heavy downpour over many parts of Singapore in the late afternoon and evening, the Changi climate station recorded a daily total rainfall of 99.2mm.

This is the second record highest daily total rainfall for October at a climate station since rainfall records began in 1869. The highest ever-recorded figure for October is 139.8mm in 2013.

Rainfall was also above average last month over the northern and eastern parts of the island. However, rainfall was below average for the rest of Singapore.

A rainfall deficit situation that Singapore experienced from July also ended in October which had an average monthly total rainfall of 175.5mm, surpassing the "40 per cent-below-normal" October mark of 120.4mm.

A rainfall deficit situation happens when the monthly rainfall for at least three consecutive months is more than 40 per cent below what is normal.

Despite the rain, last month had several warm days.

On some days, the daily maximum temperature hit above 34 deg C. The highest daily maximum temperature recorded was 35.7 deg C on Oct 13 at Clementi.

At Changi, the average maximum temperature for October was 32.7 deg C, the second highest reading for the month following the record high of 33 deg C set in October 2002.

For updates of the daily weather forecast, go to the MSS website at www.weather.gov.sg or the National Environment Agency website at www.nea.gov.sg or download the myENV app or the Weather@SG app.