TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The second cold wave of winter arrived Thursday (Dec. 22) and is expected to last through Christmas, with temperatures expected to plunge to 4 degrees Celsius in flat areas of northern Taiwan.
Forecaster Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) today said that over the coming days, the radiative cooling effect during evenings and early mornings will cause temperatures to dip below 10 C, while open areas of Taoyuan, Hsinchu, and Miaoli counties could see lows of 4 to 6 C. Wu predicted the cold wave will gradually weaken by Monday (Dec. 26), but the air will become more humid and there will be chances of rain on the windward side of the northeast monsoon.
On his Facebook page, Wu said that from Thursday through Christmas day, Taiwan will be impacted by cold and dry air. He said the cold air itself would reach the level of a cold wave.
Wu noted today is the Dongzhi (冬至, extreme of winter) Festival or winter solstice based on the lunisolar calendar. He said unlike recent previous winter solstices that were balmy, this year's Dongzhi is living up to its name due to the cold wave.
The forecaster said the weather will be generally stable over the next few days. According to forecast data, Wu said that there will only be some sporadic rainfall and cloud cover in Hualien, Taitung, and the Hengchun Peninsula.
He said that the weather in other places is expected to be sunny, with generally dry and cold conditions. Wu stated there is no chance of snowfall in the mountains, but because the temperatures at mid to high altitudes will be low, roads and areas with moisture on trees are likely to freeze.
Wu said that there will be a large temperature difference between northern and southern parts of the country, with northern and northeast areas facing the brunt of the cold air. He said even if there is sunshine during the day, the temperature will be unlikely to rise by much, with highs today only reaching about 17 to 19 C.
On Friday and Christmas Eve (Dec. 23-24), Wu predicted that highs will not rise above 13 to 15 C. As for Christmas Day, Wu forecast that highs will only rise slightly to 15 to 17 C.
Combined with radiative cooling at night and the early morning, Wu estimated that low temperatures in central Taiwan and areas north would drop below 10 C.
Wu said that central, southern, and eastern parts of the country could see warmer temperatures during the day, with the highs today climbing to 20 to 23 C. From Friday through Christmas Day, highs in these areas will reach 18 to 20 C.
At night and in the early mornings, the lows in these areas will also drop significantly due to radiative cooling. The low temperatures will drop to 8 to 10 C, while flat areas could see the mercury dip to 6 to 8 C, while southern and eastern areas could see temperatures dropping to 10 to 13 C and open areas plunging below 10 C.
The next cold front is expected to arrive on Wednesday (Dec. 28) and may linger until after New Year's Eve. Wu said currently the new system does not appear to be particularly strong, but it will still keep temperatures relatively low.
