TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A plum rain weather front is expected to bring precipitation across the country over the weekend, providing badly needed relief amid the drought plaguing the country this year.

Meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) predicts that a plum rain weather system will arrive from the north Saturday (May 29) and push all the way into southern Taiwan. He forecast that the front will then linger over the country from Sunday to Wednesday (May 30 to June 2).

Wu said that from today (May 27) until Friday (May 28), skies will be sunny and temperatures high, ranging from 23 to 36 degrees Celsius in the north, 24 to 38 degrees in central Taiwan, 24 to 39 degrees in the south, and 22 to 36 degrees in the east. During this period, afternoon cloud cover will increase and there will be a chance of localized showers in mountainous areas.

Starting Saturday, Wu predicts a typical plum rain weather front located to the north of Taiwan will shift southward and hover over the country. He added that the latest model by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) shows the front arriving in waters off the north coast on Saturday and lingering over inland areas from Sunday through Wednesday.

During this period, Taiwan will experience extremely unstable atmospheric conditions that will stimulate small- and medium-scale weather systems, severe weather, including lightning, strong winds, sudden downpours, and hail, with the possibility of heavy rains.

Wu predicted that this weather front should improve the water shortage. As to whether it will fully replenish depleted reservoirs, "just five days may not be enough."

According to the ECMWF weather simulation, from Wednesday to next Saturday (June 5), the weather front will gradually shift north off the north coast. However, it is expected to soon move south again, and when it returns, it will be joined by enhanced southwesterly winds that could develop rain bands over the country.

Wu said that if this plum rain front lasts a few days longer during that second appearance next week, it's possible it could fully relieve the water shortage. However, there are still many uncertainties with the simulations, and the predicted outcomes are far from certain at this stage.