Trump-Kim Summit Might Have Been Very Wet If It Had Taken Place This Week

Trump And Kim Escaped A Major Flash Flood That Hit The Orchard Area

Heng ah, the Trump-Kim summit ended about 2 weeks ago.

That’s because on Monday (25 Jun), flash floods hit the area around St. Regis Singapore, the hotel North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un stayed at.

In a tweet that morning, PUB cautioned that the area around The Regent Singapore and Tanglin Mall were at high risk of flooding.

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Other areas in central and western Singapore also experienced flash floods.

Including PUB’s Twitter feed, on which a torrent of tweets about water rained.

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What’s with the recent flash floods?

Why’s Singapore so thundery these days?

Thundery showers expected over the next four days
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During the Southwest Monsoon, which occurs from June to September, there is a lot of sudden heavy rain, especially in the morning.

There are two main reasons why.

Sumatra squalls

Firstly, we have the Sumatra squalls.

Satellite animation of a Sumatra squall affecting Singapore
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Sumatra squalls are a line of thunderstorms that usually develop over Sumatra island or the Straits of Malacca.

They move east toward Singapore in the pre-dawn and early morning hours during the Southwest Monsoon season.

Then, they are moved across the island by strong gusts of wind, typically between 40km/h and 80km/h.

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Gusts even reached 144.4km/h during a Sumatra squall here in 1984.

Cumulonimbus clouds – thundery showers

Secondly, there are normal thunderstorms that are produced via intense heating of earth’s surface. We usually get these in the late morning or afternoon, when it is real hot during the day.

Intense solar hearing causes warm air to rise. As it rises, it cools and water vapour in the air condenses to form clouds.

As more warm air rises, the clouds grow bigger and taller, forming cumulonimbus clouds.

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We get this kind of rainfall all year round because of Singapore’s proximity to the equator.

But in hotter months like June, such storms become more prevalent because of the extra heat.

Kim’s bodyguards with umbrellas, anyone?

Thankfully, our $16 million didn’t go to waste.

That said, it would have funny to see Mr Kim’s bodyguards running next to his car while carrying huge black umbrellas.

You know, even if it flooded, our competent army could probably have ferried the leaders around in sampans.

The sampan isn’t new to us, anyway
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So, we’re good.

Featured image from Twitter and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.