Strong continental cold air mass could affect Taiwan over weekend

強烈大陸冷氣團週末可能影響臺灣

Two cold fronts to impact Taiwan during week, with balmy weather in between


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan is set to see two cold fronts this week, with a stronger one expected over the weekend.

Meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) on Monday (Dec. 11) said that due to the influence of a high-pressure system, the weather would be balmy across the country, with only a slight chance of occasional showers in the east. There will be large diurnal temperature differences of 19 to 31 C in the north, 20 to 32 C in central Taiwan, 20 to 33 C in the south, and 19 to 29 C in the east.

Wu predicted that a northeast monsoon would move south on Tuesday (Dec. 12), bringing showers and cooler temperatures to the north and northeast. Central and southern Taiwan will continue to see large diurnal differences and sunny skies.

On Wednesday (Dec. 13), the northeast monsoon will weaken, bringing sunny weather to the west and occasional showers to the east, while temperatures will rise in the north compared to Tuesday. On Thursday and Friday (Dec. 14-15), skies will be sunny with daytime temperatures "warm like spring" and conditions stable across Taiwan.

Wu said the strongest continental polar air mass since the start of winter will move southeast and east starting on Saturday (Dec. 17). He said the cold air will primarily pass through areas north of central China, Japan, and South Korea.

Although Taiwan will only be affected by its periphery, it will still bring cold weather for nearly a week, he predicted. Wu said windward areas will remain damp and chilly.

Wu said modeling from Europe, the U.S., and Japan predict the weekend cold front will reach a "continental cold air mass" intensity and some predict it will be a "strong continental cold air mass." However, considering that it is seven days away, Wu said forecasts could change and more monitoring is suggested.