Heavy rain advisory issued for northern Taiwan; mercury may drop to 10˚C

Taipei, Feb. 3 (CNA) The Central Weather Administration (CWA) has issued a heavy rain advisory for some areas in northern Taiwan, while also warning of low temperatures, particularly after sunset.

The CWA advisory warned of possible heavy rain in northern coastal areas of the Greater Taipei area and Keelung, as well as in mountainous areas of Yilan County.

Intermittent rain may also fall in Hualien and Taitung counties and in mountainous areas of central and southern Taiwan, the CWA said.

Meanwhile, northern Taiwan can expect cold temperatures and humidity on Monday, the first workday after the extended Lunar New Year break, as a cold air mass approaches from the north, the CWA said.

Temperatures in the north are expected to hover around 16 degrees Celsius during the day and drop to 10-12 degrees at night, the weather agency said.

As of 10 a.m., the lowest temperature recorded in a low-lying area was 9.6 degrees, in Wugu District, New Taipei, according to the CWA.

In areas south of Changhua County, daytime highs of over 17 degrees were forecast Monday, with Kaohsiung, Pingtung, and Taitung counties expected to see temperatures of between 18 and 23 degrees.

During the night, however, temperatures in those areas are likely to drop to around 14 degrees, according to the CWA.

The weather agency has also warned of strong winds in coastal areas, from Taoyuan to Tainan in the west, from Pingtung to Taitung in the south and southeast, and in the outlying Penghu and Matsu islands.

According to independent meteorologist Wu Der-rong (吳德榮), the approaching cold air mass is likely to bring single digit temperatures to some low-lying regions of northern Taiwan, with the mercury dropping to 9 degrees in some areas Monday night.

Wu also forecast snow flurries overnight in mountainous areas at elevations of over 2,000 meters.

By Wednesday, the rains are expected to stop, but the cold temperatures will prevail until Thursday, he said.