Publication

Review of the November 2015 – March 2016 Northeast Monsoon in Malaysia


Publication Date :
Author : Yip Weng SangMat Kamaruzaman Mat AdamFadila Jasmin FakaruddinFatimah Zaharah SalehNursalleh K ChangDr. Fariza YunusMuhammad Helmi Abdullah
Countries : Malaysia
Disaster Management Theme :
Disaster Type : Other
Document Type : Research Paper
Languange : en
Link : http://www.met.gov.my/web/metmalaysia/publications/technicalpaper/fullpapers/document/333828/rp04_2016.pdf

Abstact :

The 2015/16 Northeast Monsoon (NEM) was reviewed using JRA-55 reanalysis wind data, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Sea Surface Temperature (SST) data and Oceanic Niño Indices (ONI), Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO) indices from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, and raingauge data from the Malaysian Meteorological Department. An earlier than usual onset but normal withdrawal period happened during this monsoon season. Six cold surges occurred in this season. Most NEM seasons have six cold surges too. The first surge of the season happened together with rainfall episodes in Sabah, Sarawak and the Peninsular East Coast while in the second surge it only rained in South Sarawak and the Peninsular East Coast. Dry weather prevailed in the third surge, but the fourth surge coincided with maximum rainfall in southern Sarawak and rainfall in the Peninsular East and West Coasts. During the fifth and sixth cold surges it rained only in Southern Sarawak. The NEM this season happened during a very strong El Niño according to ONI index sourced from NOAA. October to November 2015 was characterised by the westward shift of the average lowlevel (850-hPa) convergence centre from the South China Sea to the Bay of Bengal in conjunction with greater than usual rainfall over the western Peninsula, anomalously high sea surface temperature (SST) over the Bay of Bengal and western Indian Ocean, and a strong positive IOD episode. December 2015 to January 2016 was when the eastern Peninsular Malaysia received clearly reduced rainfall amounts together with weaker than usual low-level (850-hPa) northeasterly flow observed from the presence of both anomalous low-level southerly flow and anomalous anticyclonic circulation in Peninsular Malaysia. February to March 2016 saw enhanced northerly low-level flow from mainland Asia and enhanced convergence over the tropical Indian Ocean and southern portion of the South China Sea. South Sarawak received intense rainfall this period.