Hit by hail, northern Taiwan to see lower temperatures Tuesday night

Taipei, March 4 (CNA) An incoming weather front that pelted the Greater Taipei area with hail overnight Monday will bring rain and possible thunderstorms to much of Taiwan on Tuesday, with temperatures in the north forecast to drop to 16 degrees Celsius overnight.

The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said the system will pass over Taiwan between Tuesday and Wednesday morning, bringing steady rains that will later taper off into isolated showers and thunderstorms.

In northern and central Taiwan, as well as Yilan and Hualien in the east, there will be a chance of extreme weather events, such as brief downpours, lightning storms and strong wind gusts, the CWA said.

Daytime high temperatures on Tuesday will reach 22-24 degrees in the north and Yilan, 25-27 degrees in central Taiwan, and 28-30 degrees in the south.

Overnight lows, meanwhile, will drop to around 16 degrees in the north, and to 18-21 degrees in other regions, the agency said.

Hail reported in Taipei area

The CWA also confirmed Tuesday that hail had fallen in Greater Taipei as a first wave of storms from the system arrived in the area overnight.

The agency initially sent out a notification at 12:31 a.m. Tuesday, warning of possible extreme weather, including intense lightning and hail, in Taipei and New Taipei cities before 1:30 a.m.

Over the next few hours, residents posted pictures and videos online of pebble-sized hail that had fallen in Taipei's Xinyi, Neihu, Nangang and Wenhu districts, as well as Xizhi, Zhonghe and Xindian districts in New Taipei.

In a follow-up statement Tuesday morning, the agency confirmed the reports, adding that there would continue to be a possibility of hail developing in northern, central and eastern Taiwan through Wednesday morning.