Wettest October in 4 decades, wet weather to continue in first half of November

The current wet weather is expected to persist into November as inter-monsoon conditions are expected to continue, said the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) in a media release on Tuesday (Nov 1).

Thundery showers are expected on most days in the first fortnight of November as the monsoon rain band remains over the Southeast Asia region. 

In the first week of November, Sumatra squalls developing in the Strait of Malacca may bring widespread thundery showers with occasional gusty winds between the pre-dawn and mornings on some days. Afternoon thundery showers are expected in the second week, with showers extending into the evening on several days.

The total rainfall is forecast to be above average for the first half of November.

Daily temperatures for the first two weeks are expected to range between 24 and 33 degrees Celsius. 

The wetter weather may bring relatively lower temperatures on a few days, with daily minimum temperatures below 23 degrees Celsius and daily maximum temperatures below 32 degrees Celsius.

Singapore experienced the wettest October in four decades, based on rainfall averaged across island-wide stations with long-term records since 1980. The monthly rainfall of 412.0mm broke the previous record of 389.3mm recorded in October 2011. 

The widespread showers and gusty winds between the pre-dawn hours and morning on most days in October were caused by several Sumatra squalls. These were the result of several tropical storms over the South China Sea and Western Pacific Ocean.

Thundery showers also fell over Singapore on several afternoons and nights.

The daily maximum temperature was below 33 degrees Celsius on most days, with several days with cool night temperatures due to the rainy weather. 

There were 23 days with daily minimum temperatures of 24 degrees or less, with the lowest temperature of 21.9 degrees Celsius recorded for October.