Wet weather to continue for the rest of March

The wet weather is expected to continue for the rest of March, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said in an advisory on Mar 16. 

Even if it rains more often this month, the daily maximum temperature might still reach 35 degrees Celsius on one or two days. 

However, on most days, the temperature is forecast to range between 24 degrees Celsius and 34 degrees Celsius. 

The Sumatra squalls, which are thunderstorms originating over Sumatra and moving towards Singapore, may still bring cooler temperatures between 23 degrees Celsius and 32 degrees Celsius on a few days. 

The Sumatra squalls may also result in widespread moderate to heavy thundery showers with occasional strong winds in Singapore in the early morning. 

On other days, short-duration moderate to heavy thundery showers are expected in the afternoon. These may extend into the evening if there is strong convergence of winds in the vicinity. 

The monsoon rain band is likely to remain over Southeast Asia around the equator. Therefore, above average rainfall is expected over most parts of Singapore in March. 

Wind is expected to be mostly light and variable but may blow from west and southwest areas on a few days. In the first half of March, wind mainly blew from the northwest and northeast. 

The shift in wind conditions signals the shift into the inter-monsoon period, and the current Northeast Monsoon conditions are expected to gradually weaken, the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) said. 

The inter-monsoon period is characterised by light variable winds, warm weather and occasional heavy thunderstorms. Lightning activity also tends to be higher during this period than the rest of the year. 

The inter-monsoon period is forecast to continue throughout April.