Snow falls on Taiwan's Yushan as cold surge arrives

冷氣團報到台灣的玉山降雪

Snow has accumulated on Yushan today as a continental cold air mass strikes Taiwan


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- As a continental cold air mass is poised to strike Taiwan today, snow accumulation has already been reported on Yushan this morning (March 8) of 3 cm and counting, according to the Central Weather Bureau (CWB).

Snow began falling on Yushan at 7:05 a.m. this morning and by 10:27 a.m., 3 cm of snow had already accumulated. Yushan's Paiyun Lodge also started recording snowfall at 8:35 a.m. and has recorded an accumulation of 1 cm of snow thus far.

The CWB said that cold air is moving south and temperatures are rapidly dropping. The mercury in northern Taiwan will only reach 14 to 15 degrees Celsius by noon today, while central Taiwan and Yilan will only reach 17 to 19 degrees.

The CWB pointed out today that due to the influence of a frontal cloud system there will be a chance of brief thunderstorms throughout Taiwan with relatively large accumulations.

As cold air continues to plunge south, the mercury will continue to drop into the evening and tomorrow morning, with central to northern Taiwan seeing temperatures drop to 10 or 11 degrees. Therefore, the CWB has issued a cold surge advisory for 15 cities and counties in Taiwan. The advisory includes Taipei City, New Taipei City, Taoyuan City, Miaoli County, Taichung City, Changhua County, Yunlin County, Lienchiang County, Keelung City, Yilan County, Hsinchu County, Hsinchu City, Nantou County, Chiayi County and Chiayi City.

Low temperatures outside of the cold advisory will also reach 13 to 14 degrees.

The western outer islands of Taiwan, including Kinmen and Matsu will see partial fog or low clouds, which will affect visibility. Taiwan's coastal areas, including Lanyu Island, Green Island, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu will see strong wind gusts of up to level 8 or 10 as well has big waves.