Largely sunny skies with sporadic showers forecast for Taiwan

Taipei, April 29 (CNA) Partly cloudy to sunny skies are expected to prevail across Taiwan on Tuesday and Wednesday, with scattered showers likely in some parts of the island, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) has forecast.

On Tuesday, sporadic showers are expected in eastern Taiwan and the Hengchun Peninsula in the south, while isolated afternoon showers can be expected in mountainous areas in western Taiwan, the CWA said.

The weather around Taiwan will be relatively cool Tuesday due to the effect of seasonal northeasterly winds. Daytime highs will range from 26 to 28 degrees Celsius in northern and eastern Taiwan and reach 29-31 degrees around the rest of the island, the CWA forecast.

Lows are expected to hover around 18-20 degrees in northern Taiwan and 21-23 degrees elsewhere, the CWA said.

In Taiwan's outlying counties, temperatures are forecast to hover around 23-27 degrees in Penghu County, 20-28 degrees in Kinmen County, and 16-21 degrees in Lienchiang County (Matsu Islands), according to the CWA forecast.

As the northeasterly winds strengthen Tuesday, the western Taiwan coast from Taoyuan to Yunlin, Orchid and Green islands and the Hengchun Peninsula in the south, and Penghu could see sustained winds of 39-50 kilometers per hour, with gusts of 62-75 kph, the CWA said.

Temperatures will rise on Wednesday as the northeasterly winds weaken, with mostly sunny skies expected across Taiwan, but there still could be sporadic rainfall in the east, according to the CWA.

Another front is expected to pass near northern Taiwan on Thursday, bringing showers to parts of northern Taiwan, and mountainous areas in the center and south, said Wu Der-rong (吳德榮), an adjunct associate professor at the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at National Central University.

From Friday to Tuesday next week, mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies and warm temperatures are forecast for most of Taiwan, which may be accompanied by afternoon showers and thunderstorms, Wu said, citing the latest European weather simulation model.