Snow caps Taiwan's tallest peak

Taipei, Jan. 6 (CNA) Snow fell on Taiwan's tallest mountain, Yushan in Nantou County, amid freezing temperatures early Monday morning, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA).

As of 6 a.m., 0.5 centimeters of snow had accumulated at the weather station on the highest peak of the mountain, on the northern ridge, at an elevation of 3,952 meters, the CWA said.

It estimated that the snow had fallen on Yushan, also known as Jade Mountain, between midnight and 1 a.m., after which the temperature there dipped to a low of minus 3.1 degrees Celsius around 2 a.m.

Meanwhile, on Hehuanshan, also in Nantou County, the heaviest snowfall this winter season was recorded, the Highway Bureau said Monday.

Rime ice and snow pellets fell intermittently from around 8 p.m. Sunday to early Monday morning, covering the mountain slopes and roads, it said.

At Songxue Lodge, which stands 3,150 meters above sea level on Hehuanshan, 0.5 centimeters of snow had accumulated as of Monday morning, according to the bureau.

Visitors have been flocking to Wuling on Hehuanshan since early Monday morning, prompting the bureau to restrict travel between the 29-kilometer mark and 36.6-kilometer mark on Provincial Route No. 14A to vehicles equipped with snow chains.

The Cuifeng-Songxue Lodge section on that route was closed Sunday night as a precaution due to icy roads but was reopened at 7 a.m. Monday to limited traffic.

In non-mountainous areas, the lowest temperatures recorded early Monday were 11.2 and 11.3 degrees in Taoyuan's Daxi District and New Taipei's Shiding District, respectively, according to the CWA.

It has forecast that a dry southbound continental cold air mass approaching Taiwan will drive down temperatures nationwide Monday night, but the skies in most parts of the country will be sunny to cloudy.

Daytime highs of 18-20 degrees can be expected Monday in northern and eastern Taiwan, 21-25 degrees in central and southern areas, and 15-18 degrees in the outlying islands, the CWA said.