Heavy rain advisory issued for northern Taiwan

Taipei, Dec. 12 (CNA) The Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued a heavy rain advisory for northern Taiwan on Thursday due to northeasterly seasonal winds.

Residents in coastal areas of New Taipei and Keelung, as well as mountainous areas in Taipei, are advised to remain alert for heavy rain and potential landslides, the CWA said in an advisory issued at 10:10 a.m.

According to the CWA, heavy rain is defined as 24-hour accumulated rainfall exceeding 80 millimeters or hourly rainfall exceeding 40 millimeters.

Seasonal winds may also bring intermittent rain to northeastern and eastern regions, the Greater Taipei area, Taoyuan, and central and southeastern Taiwan, the CWA added.

According to the CWA, daytime temperatures in areas north of Hsinchu County, including Yilan County, are expected to hover between 16 and 18 degrees Celsius under cloudy skies.

Skies will be mostly sunny in western regions from Miaoli County to Tainan, with daytime temperatures reaching highs of 25 degrees before dropping below 20 degrees after sunset.

Meanwhile, independent meteorologist Wu Der-rong (吳德榮) said northern Taiwan is expected to turn colder starting Friday afternoon as the strongest cold air mass of this winter moves southward.

Wu cautioned that temperatures in low-lying areas could fall below 10 degrees in the mornings from Saturday to next Monday, before rebounding afterward.