Heavy fog cloaks parts of Taiwan, outlying islands

Taipei, Feb. 20 (CNA) A heavy fog blanketed parts of western Taiwan and several outlying islands on Tuesday but was not expected to affect the recent spell of stable and unseasonably warm weather, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA).

Early in the morning, visibility in parts of Taoyuan and Changhua, as well as the Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu islands was less than 200 meters, the CWA said, adding that in most regions, the fog was forecast to lift by late morning.

In Kinmen, 23 flights were canceled on Monday due to foggy conditions, though flight data showed that there were no cancellations and only minor delays at the island's airport on Tuesday morning.

Meanwhile, the CWA forecast high temperatures of 26-29 degrees Celsius on Tuesday for northern and eastern Taiwan and 30-32 degrees for central and southern parts of the country, under mostly cloudy to sunny skies.

Nighttime lows will to drop to 20-23 degrees nationwide, the weather agency said.

The current warm, dry weather is expected to continue until Thursday night, when a weak cold front will pass over Taiwan from the north, sending daytime temperatures in the north down below 20 degrees on Friday, according to independent meteorologist Wu Der-rong (吳德榮).

From Sunday night, temperatures will begin to drop further, as the weather turns rainy in the north, Wu said.

The cold front is expected to peak on Monday night, when temperatures will drop to 13-14 degrees in Taipei and to 10-11 degrees in some coastal or low-lying areas, Wu said.