Monsoon transition to bring heavy rains at month’s end

PETALING JAYA: Hot and dry weather around the country is expected to subside, with heavy rains expected to follow with the start of the monsoon transition period at the end of the month.

Malaysian Meteorological Department’s (MetMalaysia) director-general Muhammad Helmi Abdullah said the transition period, which is expected to begin this Friday, is forecast to last until May.

This will mark the end of the northeast monsoon season that began on Nov 11 last year.

“During this period, various regions of the country are expected to receive weak winds from multiple directions which are conducive to the occurrence of thunderstorms.

“This will usually bring about heavy rains and strong winds with the potential of causing flash floods, the toppling of trees, and damage to unsecured structures.

“These events are expected to occur mainly in the evening and early night in most areas, which include the west and inner regions of Peninsular Malaysia,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Other areas Helmi warned would experience similar weather are the western regions of Sabah as well as the south and central regions of Sarawak.

He also said the country is expected to recover from the effects of the hot weather by mid-April.

National Weather and Geophysics Operation Centre director Maqrun Fadzli Mohd Fahmi said this transition phase occurs due to a shift in wind direction from the northeast to the southwest monsoon.

“During the monsoon transition phase, wind patterns usually lead to thunderstorm activity in the late afternoon. We expect this situation to begin around early April.

“The hot and dry weather will persist for another week, but we hope that the occurrence of more rainfall during this monsoon transition phase will help alleviate the current high temperatures,” he said when appearing as a guest on BK TV’s Apa Khabar Malaysia programme yesterday.