Cold air mass forecast to send mercury down to 15°C Monday night in Taiwan

Taipei, March 9 (CNA) Temperatures in northern Taiwan are expected to drop to 15 degrees Celsius Monday night, due to a continental cold air mass, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA).

While daytime temperatures will range between 17 and 20 degrees in northern Taiwan, the mercury is likely to fall later in the day, reaching 15 degrees at night, as the cold air mass strengthens, the CWA said.

In the early hours of Tuesday, temperatures in northern parts of the country are likely to drop to 14 degrees, the CWA forecast.

Central and southern Taiwan will see warmer weather on Monday, with daytime highs of 25-27 degrees, but the mercury will dip to 15-18 degrees at night, the CWA said.

According to independent meteorologist Wu Der-rong (吳德榮), temperatures in low-lying areas across the country may drop even lower Tuesday night into Wednesday due to radiative cooling effects -- the cooling of the ground under clear skies, light winds, and dry conditions.

Meanwhile, the CWA has issued a heavy rain advisory for Keelung, New Taipei, and Yilan on Monday morning, warning of at least 80 millimeters of rainfall within 24 hours, or 40 millimeters within one hour.