Cold front hitting Taiwan today, dropping mercury to 9 degrees

今天寒流襲台，氣溫降至9度

Apparent temperature to plunge to 5 degrees Friday in north, tropical storm looms


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A continental cold air mass is poised to strike Taiwan, dropping temperatures for the rest of the week to as low as 9 degrees Celsius in the north by Friday (Feb. 19) while a tropical storm looms.

The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) today (Feb. 17) announced that a continental cold air mass has descended on Taiwan from the north. Rain is likely today in the north and east, while sporadic rainfall is likely in mountainous areas of the central and southern regions.

According to the CWB, daytime highs today will range between 17 and 19 degrees in the north and 20 and 23 degrees in the rest of the country. Lows are expected to drop to between 12 and 14 degrees in central, northern, northeastern, and eastern Taiwan, while the rest of the country will register lows of between 15 and 18 degrees.

The weather bureau predicts that starting from early Thursday morning (Feb. 18), moisture in the air will begin to diminish and the odds of precipitation will dwindle for the rest of the week. However, the cold weather will continue to intensify, with the lowest temperatures likely to occur between Thursday evening and Friday morning.

The CWB predicts that from Thursday to Friday, lows in the central, northern, northeastern, and eastern parts of the country will range from 9 to 13 degrees, with an apparent temperature of 5, while the rest of the nation will see the mercury range between 14 and 17 degrees. The apparent temperature is what the temperature feels like to the human body when taking into account air temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed.

Over those two days, Miaoli County will see the mercury dip to 9 degrees, while Yilan, Yunlin, Chiayi, and Lienchiang counties will see a low of 10 degrees, according to the CWB. WeatherRisk Director Chia Hsin-hsing (賈新興) predicts that due to radiative cooling, low temperatures in northern open areas and coastal zones could drop down to 7 or 8 degrees on Friday.

Meanwhile, Tropical Disturbance 91W, which is situated to the east of the Philippines, is expected to develop into the first tropical storm of the year — Tropical Storm Dujuan (杜鵑) — within the next 48 to 60 hours. The periphery of the storm is expected to begin to affect the central and southern parts of the Philippines on Thursday and impact the country for three more days.

Dujuan is expected to enter the South China Sea on Feb. 23, when it could potentially bring rain to Taiwan.