Cold air mass to strike Taiwan on Thursday

冷氣團將於週四襲捲台灣

Mercury predicted to drop down to 9 degrees on Friday, Saturday in northern Taiwan


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A continental cold air mass set to arrive on Thursday (Jan. 28) will send the mercury plunging to as low as 9 degrees Celsius by Friday and Saturday (Jan. 29 and 30).

Meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) today (Jan. 25) predicted the weather over the next couple of days will be comfortable, although the public should be aware of diurnal temperature fluctuations. However, as a cold air mass blows down from the north on Thursday, the temperature will drop to as low as 9 C in flat areas of northern Taiwan and 11 to 12 C in Greater Taipei on Saturday and Sunday.

Wu said the latest model from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) predicts that the western half of Taiwan will see partly cloudy to sunny skies. Eastern Taiwan will be affected by a weakening northeast monsoon with scattered showers possible today and Tuesday (Jan. 26).

Due to ample sunlight, temperatures will be mild during the day but will cool in the evening and morning due to radiant cooling. Over the coming days, large temperature swings between day and night are expected.

According to the Central Weather Bureau (CWB), as of 7 a.m. Monday (Jan. 25), the lowest temperature recorded in flat areas across Taiwan was around 13 C, with 12.3 C recorded New Taipei City's Shuangxi District in northern Taiwan, 13.1 C in Yunlin County's Gukeng Township in central Taiwan, 12.9 C in Tainan City's Baihe District in southern Taiwan, and 12.7 C in Hualien County's Shoufeng Township in eastern Taiwan.

Wu predicts that moisture will increase slightly on Wednesday (Jan. 27), when skies will still be partly cloudy to sunny in western Taiwan and the chance of rainfall in eastern Taiwan will increase. On Thursday, Wu forecasts that a cold air mass will move southward toward Taiwan, bringing a sharp drop in temperatures.

By Friday and Saturday, Wu predicts the cold air mass will envelop Taiwan and conditions will turn dry and cold. Wu said that current models predict the cold front will take the form of a strong continental air mass.

Wu forecast that by Friday, low temperatures in flat areas will dip down to 9 C, and Greater Taipei will see lows of between 11 and 12 C. He predicted that from Sunday through Monday (Jan. 31 to Feb. 1), the cold air mass will weaken and temperatures will gradually rise.