TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Central Weather Administration on Tuesday said Taiwan’s spring from February to April was the third warmest and had the fifth fewest rainy days since 1951, with the plum rain season predicted to be diminished by El Nino.
CWA Weather Forecast Center Director Huang Treng-shi (黃椿喜) said that aside from a relatively prolonged cool spell caused by cold air masses from late February to early March, temperatures were generally above average this spring, per CNA. Six lowland stations ranked among their top three warmest for the period, with Hsinchu Station recording its warmest spring on record.
Huang said the average temperature this spring was 21.9 C, 1.1 C higher than the climatological average of 20.8 C, making it the third warmest since 1951, behind only 2019 and 2024, CNA reported. He added that northeasterly winds in February and March brought most rainfall to the north coast and eastern Taiwan, while totals in the west remained relatively low.
In April, as cloud and rain systems from southern China shifted eastward, rainfall increased in northwestern and central Taiwan, though the south remained relatively dry. Overall, spring rainfall was less than normal.
Huang added that cumulative rainfall this spring averaged about 227.5 mm, roughly 20% below the climatological average, according to CNA. There were 26.5 rainy days this spring, fewer than the climatological average of 34.9 days, making it the fifth fewest since 1951.
The CWA designates May and June as Taiwan’s plum rain season, according to Nownews. Huang said current conditions point to a higher likelihood of below-normal rainfall due to a developing El Nino event.
Huang said key plum rain indicators may not emerge until after May 20, with significant rainfall expected from late May to early June. He cautioned that plum rain events are often concentrated in short periods, with rainfall intensity sometimes exceeding that of typhoons.
