
The tropical climate of Singapore results in year-round convective thunderstorms that are typically localized in nature and are often characterized with rapid growth and decay, weak environmental winds as well as back-building. As a result, traditional nowcasting methods are inadequate for most thunderstorm events. Thus, this study will aim to develop a 0 – 6 hour radar- and NWP-based nowcasting system adjusted for use in the tropics, through a conscientious effort to scrutinise each step in the weather radar data processing chain. The steps can be broadly summarised as: (i) Ensuring high quality data through data acquisition and quality control methods; (ii) deploying the latest techniques in radar data processing and compositing; (iii) evaluating precipitation estimation and rain gauge adjustment techniques; (iv) combining radar- and NWP-based nowcasts.