Snow falls in northern, eastern, and central Taiwan mountains

Taipei, Jan. 27 (CNA) Snow fell in mountainous areas of northern, central and eastern Taiwan in the early hours of Monday as cold air currents moved south.

In the northern municipality of Taoyuan, snow started falling at around 6 a.m. in Fuxing District, according to district head Su Tso-hsi (蘇佐璽).

By 10 a.m., Lalashan National Forest Recreation Area, as well as Hualing, Sanguang and Gaoyi boroughs had seen snowfall, Su said.

In central Taiwan, Shei-Pa National Park in Miaoli County and Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County saw snowfall of 5 centimeters and 6 cm, respectively, by 10 a.m., according to staff.

Meanwhile, it began snowing on Yushan North Peak, also in Nantou County, at around 9:20 a.m. as the temperature dropped to minus five degrees Celsius.

In the eastern county of Taitung, snow blanketed the Lake Jiaming Trail by noon after falling from the early hours of Monday, according to a local mountaineering group.

In Yilan County, soft hail began falling at around 5 a.m. in the Taipingshan National Forest Recreation Area at a temperature of zero degrees Celsius, according to staff.

The cold spell is expected to send the mercury down to below 10 degrees Celsius across Taiwan proper from Monday night to Jan. 30 before weakening on Jan. 31 when the weather is forecast to become warmer, Wu Der-rong (吳德榮), a meteorologist, said Monday.