Warm spell forecast to end Sunday as cold front arrives in Taiwan

Taipei, Feb. 15 (CNA) A continental cold air mass is expected to move into Taiwan on Sunday, ending Saturday's brief spell of warm weather, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA).

The cold front will start affecting northern Taiwan from Saturday night and will prevail through to Tuesday, bringing down temperatures by about 7-8 degrees Celsius, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said.

However, as temperatures were relatively warm at 27 degrees during the day on Saturday, highs on Sunday will be around 18-20 degrees, Tseng said.

With the cold air mass lingering for another two days after Sunday, the mercury is expected to dip to 14 degrees in northern Taiwan and in Yilan in the northeast, he said.

By Wednesday, the cold spell is likely to weaken, and daytime temperatures will rise again to 20 degrees, until another cold front arrives Friday, sending the mercury down to lows of 13-14 degrees, Tseng said.

Meanwhile, the weather will remain dry on Sunday, with only sporadic showers in Taoyuan and areas north of the city, as well as in eastern Taiwan, he said.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, there is likely to be more precipitation in the windward areas of the Greater Taipei region and in eastern Taiwan, Tseng said.

The increased moisture, coupled with the cold air mass, might result in snow at elevations of 3,500 meters and higher in the northern half of the country, he said.