Coldest temperatures of winter forecast to arrive over the weekend

Taipei, Jan. 17 (CNA) The coldest weather front of the winter so far will affect Taiwan over the weekend and send temperatures in low-lying areas plunging to as low as 7 degrees Celsius the following days, meteorologist Peng Chi-ming (彭啟明) warned Wednesday.

A cold wave is forecast to arrive in Taiwan Monday and Tuesday and push temperatures down to 7-9 degrees, with the mercury in open coastal areas falling 3-4 degrees lower, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) has forecast.

Peng said the strength of the cold wave could approach that of a cold surge in 2016 that was the coldest weather to hit Taiwan in the past 10 years and was blamed for dozens of deaths and considerable agricultural losses.

He urged people, particularly farmers and fishermen, to prepare themselves for bitterly cold weather.

Meanwhile, Cheng Ming-dean (鄭明典), former head of the weather bureau, said Wednesday that CWA data showed the cold front could reach the intensity of a "cold wave," meaning temperatures of 10 degrees or below would be detected at a Taipei weather station.

On Wednesday, meanwhile, as northeasterly winds weakened, only eastern Taiwan and the Hengchun Peninsula in the south were likely to see sporadic rainfall, while the western half of Taiwan will see mostly sunny or cloudy skies, according to the CWA.

Daytime highs of 24-27 degrees were expected for western Taiwan and 23-24 degrees for eastern Taiwan.

Temperature lows of 13-16 degrees can be expected in the western half and northeastern part of Taiwan, and lows of 17 degrees will be seen in Hualien and Taitung, while Hsinchu, Miaoli and Nantou may see the mercury dip below 10 degrees, according to the CWA.