More warm days, drier weather in May with highs of 35°C
People walk across a bridge near Marina Bay Sands in Singapore on Apr 14, 2021. (Photo: AFP/Roslan Rahman)
SINGAPORE: More warm days can be expected for the rest of May, with drier weather around the end of the month, the Singapore Meteorological Service said in its fortnightly outlook on Monday (May 17).
The daily temperature is forecast to range between 24 degrees Celsius and 34 degrees Celsius on most days.
With drier weather in the latter half of the fortnight, warmer conditions can be expected with daytime temperatures around 35 degrees Celcius on some days, said the Met Service.
The weather during the night can be warm when prevailing winds blow from the southeast or south, bringing warm and humid air from the sea over the land. Night-time temperatures of around 28 degrees Celsius are expected on some nights.
The Met Service added that the prevailing inter-monsoon conditions over Singapore and the surrounding region are expected to persist for the rest of the month.
During this period, the light and variable low-level winds are forecast to gradually strengthen to blow from the southeast or southwest in the latter half of the fortnight.
In the second fortnight of May, short-duration thundery showers are expected over parts of the island in the late morning and early afternoon on some days due to strong daytime heating of land areas.
On a few days, convergence of low-level winds over the Strait of Malacca may trigger the development of Sumatra squalls. The eastward passage of the squall toward the South China Sea is expected to bring widespread thundery showers and gusty winds over Singapore between the predawn hours and morning.
In the latter half of the fortnight, the monsoon rain band is forecast to shift further north of the Equator, away from Singapore. This is expected to bring less rainfall over the equatorial Southeast Asia region, including Singapore.
“In addition, with a low pressure system forecast to develop over the northern South China Sea, this could bring drier and warmer conditions over Singapore and the surrounding region. Overall, the rainfall for May 2021 is expected to be below average over some parts of the island,” it added.
WARM WEATHER IN APRIL CONTINUED INTO FIRST HALF OF MAY
In its weather review for the period of May 1 to May 16, the Met Service said inter-monsoon conditions prevailed over Singapore and the surrounding region, and the prevailing winds were generally light and blew from the east or southeast. On some days, the prevailing winds shifted to blow from the southwest.
In the first fortnight of the month, there were thundery showers mainly in the late morning and afternoon over many parts of the island due to strong daytime heating of land areas.
On a few of these days, the thundery showers were intense due to convergence of winds in the surrounding region. There were thundery showers over some parts of the island on a few nights.
On May 5, the Met Service said moderate to heavy thundery showers fell over the northern and central parts of Singapore in the afternoon. The daily total rainfall of 113.6mm recorded at Upper Peirce Reservoir that day was the highest daily total for the first half of May 2021.
The warm weather in April this year continued into the first half of May. There were days where maximum temperatures of 34 degrees Celsius or more were recorded. The highest daily maximum temperature of 35.7 degrees Celsius was recorded at Marina Barrage on May 11.
Rainfall was near-average for most parts of Singapore in the first half of the month. The highest anomaly of 73 per cent above average was recorded at Jurong West. The lowest anomaly of 58 per cent below average was at Kranji.
