Northern Taiwan could see low of 13 degrees tonight

北台灣今晚低溫下看13度

New Taipei City's Tamsui District sees new winter low temperature of 14 degrees Celsius as northeast monsoon strengthens


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- New Taipei's Tamsui District registered a low of 14.2 degrees Celsius this morning, the lowest of this winter so far, and the mercury could dip down to 13 degrees tonight, as Taiwan is set to see a three-day cold snap.

The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said that due to the influence of the northeast monsoon, there will be brief showers in northern and northeastern Taiwan. In southern and central Taiwan, the will be sporadic showers in mountainous areas.

The CWB has issued a heavy rain advisory today for New Taipei City, Taipei City, Keelung City, and Hualien County. It has also issued a strong wind advisory for all of Taiwan, except Nantou County and Chiayi City.

The CWB predicts that the low temperatures in northern, northeastern, and central Taiwan today will drop to between 13 and 16 degrees, while the rest of the countries will see lows between 16 and 19 degrees. The highs in northern Taiwan and Yilan will only reach between 17 and 20 degrees, while central and southern Taiwan will see highs between 25 and 27 degrees.

Although this wave of cold air has not reached the level of a "cold air mass," all of Taiwan will feel low temperatures in the morning and evening, and people going out during these periods are advised to wear extra layers of clothing to stay warm.

The CWB predicts that the northeast monsoon will continue to affect Taiwan well into Friday (Dec. 14). During this period, temperatures will be colder in the mornings and evenings, with lows in northern, northeastern, and central Taiwan dipping down to between 13 and 16 degrees. By Saturday, (Dec. 15), the northeast monsoon will weaken and temperatures will rise slightly.

However, by Sunday afternoon (Dec. 16), another northeast monsoon will intensify and the weather will turn cold again. Meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said that the weather on Monday and Tuesday (Dec. 17 and 18), the low temperature in Taipei will drop to below 14 degrees due to strong "radiative cooling," which will be the first wave of a "continental cold air mass" since the start of this winter.

During this period, the weather will feel comfortable during the day due to sunny skies, but will cool off dramatically at night due to radiative cooling, said Wu.