TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- While a northeast monsoon is bringing cold and wet weather to northern Taiwan today, a new cold air wave will cause the mercury to plummet down to 11 degrees Celsius by Monday, according to Meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮).
Wu said that the daytime highs in northern Taiwan will only reach between 18 and 19 degrees. As for low temperatures, Wu pointed out that the lowest temperature in Taipei was 16.7 degrees this morning and 15.5 degrees yesterday morning, while New Taipei City's Sanzhi District saw a low of 14.2 degrees this morning and recorded a low of 13.4 degrees yesterday morning.
Wu said that the coast and mountainous areas in the north and northeast will see heavy rain today, while there will also be local showers in the greater Taipei basin. He said the main cause is that the northeast monsoon has been affected by topographic uplift.
The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) today has issued a heavy rain advisory for four counties and cities in northern Taiwan, including Taipei city, New Taipei City, Keelung City, and Yilan County. At the same time, it has also issued a strong wind advisory (over land) for all of Taiwan, except for Nantou County and Chiayi City.
Wu predicted that conditions will be milder today in central and southern Taiwan, and by tomorrow morning, the weather will start to clear in northern Taiwan as the northeast monsoon dissipates. However, Wu warned that the latest simulation model shows that by Sunday afternoon, a new cold wave will push southward into Taiwan and temperatures will start to plunge again.
Wu said that the new wave of cold air will be dry and therefore skies will be clear when it arrives on Monday. He predicted that from late Monday to early Tuesday, due to the radiative cooling effect at night, the low temperature in Taipei will drop down to 13 degrees, while open areas in Taiwan from Chiayi northward will dip to 11 or 12 degrees.
Though skies will be sunny during this period, the nights will continue be cold due through Wednesday due to radiative cooling, said Wu. He predicts that by Thursday, the cold air mass will start to weaken and temperatures will start to rise during the day.
The CWB said that by Tuesday, northern Taiwan will see low temperatures ranging between 12 and 13 degrees, central Taiwan will experience a range of between 14 and 15 degrees, while southern and eastern Taiwan will witness the mercury drop to between 16 and 17 degrees. The CWB said that by Wednesday and Thursday, the cold air mass will weaken and temperatures will gradually rise, bringing partly cloudy to sunny skies over much of Taiwan, with the exception of eastern and southern Taiwan, which could see scattered showers.