Mercury to drop below 6 degrees as cold wave hits Taiwan on Jan. 7

寒流將於1月7日襲擊台灣，使氣溫降至6度以下

CWB issues cold surge advisory for 14 counties and cities, with cold wave set to strike on Wednesday


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) has issued a cold surge advisory for 14 counties and cities as a cold wave is poised to strike Taiwan on Thursday (Jan. 7), causing the temperature to plunge down to 6 degrees Celsius.

At 10:50 a.m. today (Jan. 6), the CWB issued an orange cold surge advisory for temperatures remaining around or below 6 degrees in Keelung City, Taipei City, New Taipei City, Taoyuan City, Hsinchu County, Miaoli County, Yilan County, Kinmen County, Hsinchu City, Taichung City, Changhua County, Yunlin County, Hualien County, and Lienchiang County. It also issued a yellow cold surge advisory for temperatures dropping below 10 degrees in Nantou County, Chiayi City, Chiayi County, Tainan City, Kaohsiung City, Taitung County, and Penghu County. The cold surge advisories will be in effect from Thursday through Friday (Jan. 8).

The CWB predicts that the cold wave will arrive on Thursday evening and will bring frigid temperatures across the country on Friday and Saturday (Jan. 9). The temperature is likely to drop below 10 degrees in northern Taiwan on Thursday morning, while the mercury could plummet below 6 degrees in some areas from Thursday evening through Friday.

Chia Hsin-hsing (賈新興), a Weather Risk supervisor said that according to a model by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), there is a 25 to 75 percent chance the temperature at Taipei Main Station will hover between 5 and 7 degrees. He predicted that open areas and valleys along the northern coast could see temperatures range between 3 and 6 degrees.

Chia predicted that on Thursday morning, the temperature at Taipei Main Station may drop to 10 degrees and temperatures in open areas and valleys along the northern coast will also drop to 10 degrees. He predicted that the lowest temperatures will be seen between Thursday night and Friday morning.

As for precipitation, CWB meteorologist Yeh Chih-chun (葉致均) predicted that there will be a lot of moisture in the air before midday Friday and rain is likely in northern Taiwan. At that time, there will also be some short-term rains in mountainous areas of eastern, central, and southern Taiwan.

Yeh predicted that on Thursday, localized heavy rain is likely on the north coast and mountainous areas of Greater Taipei. By Friday afternoon, the rainfall should begin to diminish and lingering showers may appear in northern and eastern Taiwan.

Additionally, Yeh explained that from Thursday evening and throughout Friday, snow is likely in mountainous areas with an elevation of between 1,000 and 2,000 meters in northern Taiwan, while mountainous areas over 3,000 meters in elevation in other parts of the country could also see snow.