Mercury set to drop as low as 10°C in 17 counties, cities Thursday

Taipei, Jan. 7 (CNA) A cold surge advisory has been issued for 17 of 22 counties and cities in Taiwan, with those areas set to see temperatures fall to as low as 10 degrees Celsius Thursday, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA).

CWA forecaster Lai Hsin-kuo (賴欣國) said the freezing weather is forecast in the wake of a strong continental cold air mass, combined with radiative cooling effects, which refers to the cooling of the ground under clear skies, light winds and dry conditions.

An "orange" cold surge alert has been issued for New Taipei, Taipei and Taoyuan and Hsinchu, Miaoli and Yilan counties in the north, indicating a minimum ground-level temperature below 6 degrees or a minimum ground-level temperature below 10 degrees and temperatures below 12 degrees for 24 hours.

A "yellow" signal was issued for Keelung and Hsinchu cities in the north, Taichung and Changhua and Nantou counties in central Taiwan, Yunlin and Chiayi counties, Tainan and Kaohsiung in the south, Hualien County in the east as well as the outlying Kinmen islands, defined as a minimum ground-level temperature below 10 degrees.

The CWA said daytime mercury is forecast to hit 15 degrees in the north and 18-20 degrees in central and southern Taiwan on Thursday.

The cold air mass is expected to weaken Friday and Saturday with temperature highs expected to rise to 18-20 degrees in the north, and 20-22 degrees in central and southern Taiwan, Lai said.

Another continental cold air mass is forecast to set in Saturday night to Monday with the mercury plunging to 13-15 degrees in the early mornings and at night, but the weather will stay dry due to little moisture, he added.