Temperatures to dip to 8 degrees in northern Taiwan late Friday

Taipei, March 1 (CNA) An approaching cold air mass will see temperatures dip to 8 degrees Celsius in areas north of Hsinchu and Miaoli late Friday, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA).

The CWA's Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) told CNA that the cold air mass is forecast to affect Taiwan until Saturday, with warmer temperatures set to prevail from Sunday to Tuesday.

Between Sunday and Tuesday, daytime temperatures are expected to reach 30 degrees, Lee said.

According to Lee, with the impact of the strong cold air mass, a low of 10 to 12 degrees is forecast in northern and northeastern Taiwan, 12 to 13 degrees in central Taiwan, and 14 to 16 degrees in eastern Taiwan on Friday and Saturday.

Lee added that northern and northeastern Taiwan as well as central parts of the country can expect rainfall on Friday and Saturday.

The cold air mass will weaken from Sunday, however, temperatures will remain low in the early morning, with lows of 13 to 16 degrees forecast nationwide, Lee said.

Daytime highs of 23 to 26 degrees are forecast in all cities and counties on Sunday, Lee said.

Lee added that next Tuesday will be the warmest, with highs of 30 degrees expected across the country.

However, according to Lee, the mercury will dip between March 6-8, with lows of 13 degrees expected for northern Taiwan, 15 degrees in central Taiwan and Hualien, and 17 to 18 degrees in southern Taiwan and Taitung.

Taiwan could expect intermittent showers in parts of northern and northeastern Taiwan, and sporadic rain in mountainous areas in central and southern regions when the next cold wave blankets the country, Lee said.

Meanwhile, Lee said mountains higher than 3,000 meters north of central Taiwan have chances of snow late Friday and in the early morning of Saturday, while central Taiwan and the outlying Matsu Islands should be aware of fog on Sunday and early Monday.

A strong wind advisory has also been issued for most of Taiwan on Friday, with Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Taichung, Changhua, Yunlin, Chiayi, Tainan, Pingtung and Taitung, as well as outlying Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu expected to see winds up to 102 kilometers per hour from Friday to Saturday morning.