Holiday traffic smooth, colder weather to come

The Central Weather Bureau said yesterday that warm and sunny weather is expected till noon today, after which the chance of rainfall is high.

On Taiwan's roads, meanwhile, traffic was heavy but flowing smoothly, according to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.

The weather bureau warned yesterday that a cold front from China will hit Taiwan on Sunday and that the Lunar New Year holiday's coldest days would probably be next Wednesday and Thursday.

The temperature today will be between 14 °C and 26°C across the main island of Taiwan, the bureau said, and it may rain in the afternoon in northern, central and eastern areas.

The temperature will begin to drop from Sunday, with temperatures in the north and east falling below 20°C, it said.

On Monday, morning temperatures are expected to be between 11°C and 12°C in northern and eastern areas, with temperatures falling sharply at night, the bureau said.

On Wednesday, a low-pressure system is expected to arrive, bringing temperatures down as low as 10°C. Temperatures will fall further on Thursday, according to the bureau.

Meanwhile, Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Ling-san (林陵三) said yesterday that traffic on the two north-south freeways was heavy yesterday but that there were no serious traffic jams.

He said that 1.72 million vehicles used the two freeways on Thursday, 20 percent more than usual, and 310,000 cars were on the roads yesterday morning, twice the average.

Cars were averaging 80kph, meaning that a trip from Taipei to Kaohsiung would take only four hours, compared to the usual six for the holiday season.

Rest areas along the freeways were crowded, with cars forming lines to wait for parking at many of them.

To speed the flow of traffic, the Taiwan Area National Freeway Bureau decided not to collect tolls from early yesterday for the duration of the holiday period and to restrict cars with fewer than three people from using the freeways until noon next Friday.

Officials said traffic thinned after midday yesterday and the average speed increased.

According to past experience, the second day of the lunar calendar, which falls on Feb. 2 this year, is another peak traveling day since it is a traditional day for families to visit the wife's parents.