Unstable weather to continue, rain to pelt central, southern Taiwan

Taipei, July 29 (CNA) The unstable weather that has affected Taiwan in recent days is expected to continue Tuesday due to the ongoing influence of southwesterly winds and the outer bands of Tropical Storm Co-May.

Rainfall in central and southern Taiwan is expected to be significant, with chances of short-duration heavy downpours or localized torrential rain, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) predicted.

People in mountainous areas should be aware of the severe weather conditions, including the possibility of landslides, it said.

The CWA has issued torrential rain or extremely heavy rain advisories for Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Chiayi cities and Pingtung, Chiayi, and Taitung counties in southern Taiwan and the outlying Penghu County.

The CWA defines torrential rain as more than 350 mm in 24 hours or 200 mm in three hours, while extremely heavy rain means over 200 mm in 24 hours or 100 mm in three hours.

A heavy rain warning, which refers to more than 80 mm in 24 hours or more than 40 mm in an hour, has been issued for the cities and counties of Keelung, Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Changhua, Nantou and Yunlin.

According to the CWA, the advisories are in effect until Tuesday night.

Temperature-wise, highs of 30-33 degrees Celsius are forecast nationwide during the day, with lows ranging between 25 and 27 degrees.

Independent meteorologist Wu Der-rong (吳德榮) said the unstable weather around the country is expected to last until Aug. 4, with chances of scattered showers or thunderstorms.

Based on the latest European forecast model, a Pacific high-pressure system will intensify on Aug. 6 as southwesterly winds weaken, returning Taiwan to hot and sunny weather, Wu said.

Tropical Storm Co-May, located roughly 430 kilometers northeast of Taipei as of 8 a.m. and moving at 22 km per hour in a west-northwest direction, was heading toward Zhejiang and will have no direct impact on Taiwan, he said.