Taipei records highest rainfall in Feb. in 11 years

台北2月降雨量創11年來最高

Capital city has recorded 195.5 mm of rain so far this month


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taipei may soon record the most rainfall in February in 14 years, with 18 rainy days so far this month, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said on Tuesday (Feb. 22).

CWB Director-General Cheng Ming-dean (鄭明典) on Tuesday posted a graph of the accumulated precipitation across Taiwan from 12 a.m. on Feb. 19 to 6 a.m. on Feb. 22 to Facebook, with a caption marveling at the special quality of this year’s spring rain, CNA reported. He said that even though the rainfall is not as heavy as plum rain, it is extensive and does not look like it will end any time soon.

According to bureau forecaster Huang En-hong (黃恩鴻), the Taipei Weather Station has recorded 195.5 millimeters of rain in February as of Tuesday morning, which is close to the 198mm recorded in February 2014, per CNA. He said that it’s very likely that the amount of accumulated precipitation in February this year will exceed that of 2014 by the end of this month and become a new record high since the 268.8mm recorded in 2012.

Data show a major discrepancy in the amounts of accumulated precipitation in February over the years. The February amounts in most years since 2013 did not exceed 100mm, with only the years of 2014, 2017, and 2018 exceeding 100mm with 198mm, 123.7mm, and 163.6mm, respectively, and 2020 being the lowest with only 29.6mm.

Even though many people feel that this February is especially cold, data show that the lowest temperature the Taipei Weather Station has recorded in February so far this year is 10.3 degrees Celsius, which only ranks as the 12th coldest February since 2000. The lowest temperatures recorded by the station in February 2005, 2016, 2018, and 2020 were all below 10 degrees, coming in at 7.3 degrees, 6.1 degrees, 7.6 degrees, and 8.5 degrees, respectively.

Huang explained that the apparent temperature is affected by windiness and humidity. As there are relatively more rainy days this February, the humid weather makes people feel cold, even though the actual temperatures are not very low, he added.