Taiwan's 3-day holiday to see soggy start

台灣三天假期將潮濕有雨

Start of 228 Peace Memorial Day holiday to be affected by northeast monsoon


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The first day of Taiwan's three-day holiday will likely see wet weather, but conditions should begin to clear midway and the last day will likely see sunny skies.

The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) today (Feb. 23) predicted that a northeast monsoon affecting the country has strengthened and will bring cloudy skies and short-term rains to northern and eastern Taiwan that day. A second northeasterly monsoon is expected to affect the country from Friday to next Tuesday (Feb. 26 to March 2), with the highest probability of precipitation occurring on Friday and Saturday (Feb. 27).

Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華), a senior specialist at the CWB, said that the northeast monsoon will bring cloudy weather to eastern Taiwan, Greater Taipei, and the Hengchun Peninsula, while Taoyuan to Kaohsiung will see sunny skies. Wu predicted occasional rains in southern Taiwan, coastal areas of southeastern Taiwan, the northern coast of Keelung, eastern Taiwan, the Hengchun Peninsula, and mountainous areas of Greater Taipei today.

Wu said that the mercury will drop somewhat on Wednesday morning (Feb. 24), with central and northern Taiwan recording a low of 16 degrees Celsius, southern and northeastern Taiwan registering a low of 17 degrees, and the rest of the country seeing the temperature drop to 18 or 19 degrees.

He predicted that a second monsoon will shift into Taiwan from the north from Friday to Saturday. It is expected to increase cloud cover and brief rains to northern and eastern Taiwan, the Hengchun Peninsula, and mountainous areas of central and southern Taiwan.

The second monsoon will likely also bring cooler temperatures with the low dropping to 15 degrees in northern and eastern parts of the country, 16-17 degrees in central and southern areas, and 18 or 19 degrees in the rest of the country.

Wu forecast that the northeast winds will bring an increase in moisture to Taiwan on Friday and Saturday, likely increasing the odds of precipitation on those days. He said that as the monsoon strengthens, it could bring wind gusts on open coastal areas up to Level 8 or 9 on the Beaufort Scale, and from today through Friday, fog is possible in the early mornings and evenings in western Taiwan, as well as Kinmen and Matsu, particularly on Thursday and Friday.

Regarding the weather for the three-day 228 Peace Memorial Day holiday, Wu said that the northeast monsoon will strengthen on Friday and impact the country on Saturday. He predicted that on Saturday there will be more moisture in the air, bringing short rains to northern and eastern Taiwan, the Hengchun Peninsula, and mountainous areas of central and southern Taiwan, while western Taiwan will see an increase of cloud cover,

He predicted that the system will weaken by Sunday (Feb. 28) and a third northeast monsoon will descend on the country on Tuesday morning. Wu said that by that day, only eastern Taiwan will continue to see isolated showers and occasional rainfall, while the rest of the country will see sunny skies.