Miaoli records lowest mercury of 7.5 degrees early Saturday morning

Taipei, March 9 (CNA) Miaoli in northern Taiwan recorded the lowest mercury of 7.5 degrees Celsius of all low-lying areas in Taiwan proper early Saturday morning as a strong continental cold air mass continued to grip the country, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA).

Data compiled by the CWA showed temperatures in most areas in northern and northeastern Taiwan dipped below 10 degrees early Saturday morning. The low in Miaoli was logged at 1:24 a.m.

Early Saturday morning, temperatures dipped to 8.1 degrees in Keelung, 8.2 degrees in New Taipei's Fulong and Yilan's Dongao, 8.7 degrees in Yilan's Jiaoxi, 8.8 degrees in New Taipei's Shenkeng, 8.9 degrees in Taipei's Wenshan District and Yilan's Toucheng, 9 degrees in New Taipei's Tamsui, and 9.6 degrees in New Taipei's Banqiao.

A yellow cold advisory has been issued for New Taipei, Keelung, Taipei, and Taoyuan cities,and Hsinchu and Miaoli counties in the north, Taichung City and Changhua County in central Taiwan, and Yilan and Hualien in the east, the CWA said.

The cold warning means temperatures in the low-lying areas of these cities and counties could dip below 10 degrees, according to the CWA.

The CWA said daytime temperatures are expected to range between 17 and 19 degrees in the north on Saturday and 22-25 degrees in central and southern parts of the country.

Cloudy and sunny skies are forecast for Taiwan and the outlying Kinmen, Matsu, and Penghu islands on Saturday, and sporadic showers are possible in mountainous areas and central and southern parts of the country, the CWA said.

The cold air mass is likely to weaken Sunday, sending temperatures slightly higher, while brief rain is forecast in eastern Taiwan, the Hangchun Peninsula, as well as the mountainous areas in central and southern Taiwan, the CWA added.

However, the CWA said, another weather front is expected to set in Monday as a northeasterly wind system gathers momentum. It is likely to strengthen and affect Taiwan until Wednesday.

The CWA said mountainous areas over 3,500 meters in the north of the country could also see sporadic snowfall from Sunday through Tuesday.