Taiwan heading for warmer, slightly drier winter: CWA

Taipei, Nov. 28 (CNA) Taiwan is likely to experience a warmer-than-average and slightly drier winter as a La Niña-like pattern continues to develop in the Pacific, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) predicted Friday.

In its winter outlook released Friday, the CWA said sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific are currently cooler in the eastern Pacific and warmer in the western Pacific, a typical precursor to La Niña conditions.

In years with similar patterns, air currents from the south tend to be slightly stronger than normal, meaning leeward areas in western Taiwan may experience less rainfall and slightly higher temperatures, Lo Ya-yin (羅雅尹), deputy director of the CWA's Weather Forecast Center, said at a CWA press conference.

She noted, however, that La Niña indicators are not yet well defined, indicating that significant year-to-year variations in weather patterns are still possible.

Lo also said that this autumn was Taiwan's warmest since records began in 1951. From September to November, the average temperature in Taiwan reached 26.5 degrees Celsius, well above the climatological norm of 25.1 degrees.

Rainfall during the period totaled 644.2 millimeters, roughly in line with the long-term average, but the number of rainy days was unusually low -- only 26.5 -- the fifth fewest on record, Lo said.

She added that 13 tropical storms formed in the Northwest Pacific during the three-month period, exceeding the climatological average of 10.8. So far this year, 27 tropical storms have developed across the entire Pacific Ocean, slightly above the long-term norm of 25 to 26, Lo said.