Thunderstorm, gusty winds lash Singapore for a second day

SINGAPORE — For the second day in a row, gusty winds and thunderstorms pummeled parts of Singapore, even as some businesses hit by the previous day’s weather chaos were still picking up the pieces and counting the costs.

On Wednesday (Jan 31), wind speeds of up to 59.1km/h in the east sent boats from the National Sailing Centre (NSC) flying in the air.

Footage from a video that went viral on social media showed a few small boats being hurled into the air by strong winds at the East Coast training centre for national sailors.

Dumpsters were also said to have been sent flying at East Coast Park, and accounts on social media emerged of fallen trees near Marine Parade.

At about 4.30pm on Wednesday, the National Environment Agency (NEA) tweeted a heavy rain warning.

“Moderate to heavy thundery showers with gusty wind are expected over many areas of Singapore,” it said.

In a update on Wednesday's weather, the NEA said in a statement on Thursday that the strong winds experienced in parts of south-eastern Singapore were due to "strong downdrafts from thunderstorm clouds which reached heights of around 16km".

"Favourable atmospheric (wind, moisture, temperature) conditions led to the development of the intense thunderstorms yesterday and on Tuesday. Such conditions are not uncommon in the tropics," it added.

The NEA said a waterpout was also spotted at around 4.10pm over the sea off the east coast of Singapore.

"As the waterspout neared the coast, it weakened but still brought strong winds to the East Coast Parkway (ECP) area," said the agency.

Waterspouts typically have a life span of a few minutes to an hour, and tend to occur over the waters off southern Singapore. 

At sea, they can produce wind gusts of up to 80km/h and "pose some risk to people and objects including small vessels nearby". 

The last sighting of a waterspout was on June 18,  2017, off the southeast coast of Singapore.

According to the NEA, the strongest wind gusts recorded from the nearest wind sensor at ECP on Wednesday was 59.1km/h. 

The highest recorded wind gust in the area was 72.8km/h on Dec 7, 2014.

Wednesday was also the second-straight day that Singapore was hit by torrential rain in the late afternoon.

On Tuesday, more than 60 trees were damaged after gusty winds and heavy rain swept through Seletar North Link. Flash floods and hail were reported in the Yishun area as well.

According to the Meteorological Services Singapore (MSS), the highest-recorded 30-minute rainfall on Tuesday was 46.6mm at 4.55pm, and the strongest-recorded wind gust was 70.9kmh at around 5.15pm in Sembawang.

The highest wind speed recorded historically was 144.4kmh, taken on April 25, 1984.

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The National Parks Board (NParks) said it received reports of more than 200 tree incidents on Tuesday. These comprised mainly small trees and snapped branches, the NParks spokesperson said, noting that most were cleared by 8pm on Tuesday.

POST-FREAK STORM IN YISHUN, BUSINESSES COUNT THE COSTS

For businesses affected by Tuesday’s storm in northern Singapore, the inevitable job of cleaning up and tallying losses needed to be done.

At Hua Hng Trading Co, gusty winds racking up speeds of up to 70kmh and intense rainfall and hail on Tuesday evening caused potted plants to be blown off their racks and ornamental trees uprooted.

The nursery’s managing director Chua King Wah told TODAY that the team spent the whole night trying to salvage the plants, working well into the morning.

Mr Chua estimated around S$10,000 in losses from the damaged plants, which included the Celosia Plume, and tangerine shrubs — plants popular during Chinese New Year.

That was another concern looming for the nursery, which has been in the business for close to 30 years. Given that the Chinese New Year is fast approaching, Mr Chua said he is worried of a shortfall in supply,

Recounting the events of Wednesday evening, Mr Chua said the storm started like any normal storm did — wind, rainfall, thunder, and lightning.

Then came the abrupt — and swift — change in wind direction.

“The winds went from North-East, to South-West, and it started blowing very strongly. It was almost like a tornado swept in here,” he said.

There was no time to salvage the plants, said Mr Chua. His first priority was to get his customers into shelter.

Hua Hng was just one among the businesses along Bah Soon Pah Road near Yishun that were hit by Tuesday’s storm.

Mr Soh Wen Chong from vegetable farm Pacific Agro estimated that some 10 per cent of his cherry tomato crops were damaged by the storm.

It is still too early to see the effects of the storm on crop supply though, Mr Soh noted, as the current batch of crops have not borne fruit yet.

When TODAY visited the farm on Wednesday afternoon, workers could be seen doing repair works. One plot of cherry tomato crops was buried beneath a fallen shelter.

“I was devastated by the damage. If there is nothing to sell in two weeks’ time, then it would be bad news for Chinese New Year,” Mr Soh told TODAY.

At hydroponics farm Oh’ Farms next door, it was a similar story of damage — greenhouse roofs blown off by strong winds, broken zinc roofs, and dislodged structures and pipes.

Supply will “definitely be affected” said Ms Ore Huiying, a freelance photographer who helps out at her family farm. It would take a while for the farm to tally up the losses, she added.

For the farms in Yishun, this was the first time damage of such an extent was wreaked. And it caught them off guard.

Shrugging his shoulders, Mr Chua said: “What precautions can we take? We have never seen such storms before, and don’t know when it would happen again.”