TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Temperatures across Taiwan are forecast to begin gradually dropping on Friday (Dec. 9) and by Wednesday a cold front is expected to arrive from the north, causing the mercury in northern Taiwan to dip down to 12 degrees Celsius
Meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) in his weather column on Thursday (Dec. 8) predicted that the strength of the cold front headed south toward Taiwan on Dec. 14 could be close to that of a continental cold air mass. Wu estimated that this cold front could be the strongest seen so far this fall.
According to the Central Weather Bureau, low temperatures in the plains areas of Taiwan on Thursday morning (Dec. 8) dropped to 14.2 degrees in Hualien County's Shoufeng Township, Taichung City's Wufeng District, Nantou County's Zhushan Township, and Changhua County's Fengyuan Township.
Wu said that based on the latest modeling, the northeast monsoon will increase day by day from Friday to Monday (Dec. 12). Temperatures were expected to drop slightly on Friday and Sunday (Dec. 10) and northern Taiwan will be wet and cool, while central and southern parts of the country will be balmy during the day and cool in the morning and evening.
On Sunday (Dec. 11) and Monday, temperatures will likely start to drop again and conditions in northern Taiwan will turn wet and cold, while central and southern parts of the country will see warm temperatures by day and cold temperatures by night.
By Tuesday (Dec. 13), the northeast monsoon will weaken slightly and temperatures are predicted to rise slightly. Over this five-day period, there will be localized rains in northern and eastern areas, while skies will be cloudy in central and southern parts of the country.
Wu pointed out that the latest model by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) shows that on Wednesday, the strongest cold front will have moved southward into Taiwan and its intensity is very close to that of a continental cold air mass. However, as this is based on a seven-day simulation, there is a certain level of uncertainty and adjustments in the model should be closely observed, said Wu.