TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The first plum rain front of the year is set to arrive over the Labor Day weekend, bringing wet weather on Sunday and Monday (May 1-2).
Plum rain is generated by precipitation along a stationary front and in Taiwan typically occurs from May to June. WeatherRisk Explore Inc. CEO Peng Chi-ming (彭啟明) said that a plum rain front will arrive on Sunday.
Peng said that the front will be affected by a northeasterly wind and moisture from the South China Sea that is moving northward. Peng said that this will likely result in afternoon thunderstorms and heavy rainfall across Taiwan on Sunday and Monday.
The weather expert predicted that temperatures will drop significantly with highs of 17 to 20 degrees in northern Taiwan and 20 to 29 degrees in southern Taiwan on those two days. Peng said the cool conditions will continue on Tuesday and Wednesday (May 3 and 4), but rainfall may diminish slightly.
He forecast that the hot temperatures will not return to Taiwan until Thursday, which means there will likely be three consecutive days of wet weather from Monday through Wednesday.
He reminded the public that the flood season starts in May, when there are often many extreme rainfall events, afternoon thunderstorms, severe lightning brought on by convection, and hail, with precipitation reaching 2 to 30 millimeters (mm) within 10 minutes and an excess of 100 mm within an hour. Although these weather events may only last a few hours, Peng urged the public to exercise caution because they can cause flooding almost anywhere.
