2nd cold front predicted to arrive on New Year's Eve

第二波冷氣團預計在除夕夜到來

Skies forecast to clear enough to see sunrise on New Year's Day


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Two cold fronts are predicted to impact Taiwan over the week, with the second and colder of the two arriving on New Year Year's Eve.

Even so, skies are forecast to be clear enough to see the first sunrise of 2024 in most parts of the country.

A southern cloud system is moving in, and there will be a change in weather from Wednesday night (Dec. 27) to Thursday (Dec. 28). There is a chance of scattered rain in some areas and over the week two cold fronts will affect the region, leading to significant temperature fluctuations in the northeast.

During New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, and into the early morning of Tuesday (Jan. 2), temperatures across Taiwan will drop. Due to reduced atmospheric moisture on New Year's Day, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said that in much of Taiwan, it is likely that the sunrise will be visible on New Year's Day.

CWA forecaster Hsu Chung-yi (徐仲毅) was cited by ETtoday as saying the first cold front will be brought in by a northeast monsoon that will strengthen on Thursday and Friday (Dec. 29) and weaken on Saturday (Dec. 30), but there will be another cold front that will arrive on New Year's Eve (Sunday, Dec. 31) and New Year's Day (Monday, Jan. 1).

Affected by the southern cloud system, cloud cover is increasing across various areas on Wednesday. Hsu said the weather will be stable with mostly cloudy conditions during the day.

As for rainfall for the upcoming week, Hsu said there will be localized showers in the north, east, south, and mountainous areas of central Taiwan. The central plains may experience isolated rain, and regions across the country will be influenced by the southern cloud system, leading to a higher probability of precipitation.

After Friday, the influence of the southern cloud system will decrease, and the northeast monsoon will become more of a factor This will bring rainfall to the north and east, with the possibility of localized heavy rain in the northeast on Friday.

On Saturday and Sunday, rainfall will diminish, with only Keelung, the northern coast, and the eastern half of the country experiencing rain. Other areas will see partly cloudy to clear skies.

Regarding temperatures, Hsu said that the first cold front will impact the country on Thursday and Friday when the low temperature in the north will drop to 17 to 18 C and cloudiness will increase.

Hsu predicted the second cold front would arrive on New Year's Eve and its intensity would be relatively strong, approaching the level of a continental cold air mass. From New Year's Eve to New Year's Day, as well as Tuesday morning, temperatures are predicted to be relatively low, not only in the north but also in central and southern parts of the country.

As for the odds of witnessing the first sunrise of 2024, Hsu predicted that on Saturday and Sunday, rain is likely in Keelung, the north coast, and the eastern half of the country. On New Year's Day, there will be even less atmospheric moisture, and the likelihood of seeing the sun sunrise that day is relatively high in much of the country.