Northern Taiwan turns cool, wet; wind warning issued for coastal areas

Taipei, May 26 (CNA) The weather in northern Taiwan was expected to be wet and cool on Monday, while some coastal areas of the country were under a high wind warning, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA).

The conditions were due to seasonal northeasterly winds and an approaching weather system, which were expected to affect Taiwan until late Tuesday, the CWA said.

As of Monday morning, strong wind advisories were in effect for the Penghu Islands, the Hengchun Peninsula in Pingtung County, as well as some coastal towns and districts in Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan, and Changhua County.

In its warning, the CWA said those areas may experience winds of 39 kilometers per hour, with gusts of 62 kph, from Monday into Tuesday evening.

The seasonal winds were also bringing cooler temperatures, the CWA said, forecasting daytime highs of 22-23 degrees Celsius in northern Taiwan and Yilan County, 25-28 degrees in central Taiwan and the counties of Hualien and Taitung, and 30 degrees in the south.

In the evening through to early Tuesday, lows of 20-22 degrees can be expected in northern, central and eastern Taiwan, and 23-24 degrees in the south, according to the CWA.

CWA data showed that at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, the temperature in Taipei dropped to 17.3 degrees, the second-lowest on record for late May since 2000. At 1:30 p.m., the temperature in the city was 19.7 degrees, according to the CWA.

CWA forecaster Chen Pei-an (陳姵安) told CNA that early morning temperatures in northern Taiwan are expected to be low on Tuesday and later in the week due to a second approaching weather front.

Meanwhile, the weather system approaching from southern China was expected to bring rain to northern Taiwan and sporadic showers to other areas on Monday, the CWA said, adding that the rainfall throughout the country was likely to be heavy.

By Tuesday, the rain is expected to ease in most areas, except in Keelung, where occasional showers are likely to persist, the CWA forecast showed.

Wu Der-rong (吳德榮), an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at National Central University, said Monday in his daily weather forecast that another weather front is expected to approach Taiwan late Wednesday, bringing more rain.

Most parts of Taiwan will see significant rainfall on Thursday, with some areas experiencing torrential rain, lightening, and high winds, Wu predicted.