A strong cold air mass is expected to send temperatures plummeting across the country from Saturday (Jan. 16) to next Monday, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said Friday.



The bureau has issued low temperature warnings to most areas of central and southern parts of the country, as lows there could drop below 10 degrees Celsius over the three-day period.



The areas likely to be worst-affected are Hsinchu, Miaoli, Taichung, Changhua, Nantou, Yunlin, Chiayi, Tainan, and Kaohsiung, it said.



Meanwhile, northern and eastern Taiwan could experience showers over the weekend, while cloudy to clear skies are likely in most other areas, the CWB said.



The cold air mass could ease from next Tuesday, with temperatures up by 1-3 degrees nationwide, it said.



Another weather front, however, is expected to approach Taiwan later in the week, bringing more rain to the country, according to forecasters.