Unseasonably cold weather brought snow yesterday to Taiwan's highest mountain, Jade Mountain. The nation will be affected by cold and damp days and those living in mountainous areas in central Taiwan need to be alert to possible mudflows and landslides triggered by heavy rains in the next four days, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday.
A cold front that descended on the nation caused the temperature on Jade Mountain to drop to minus 2.6?C at around 6:32am yesterday. It began to snow at around 7am and stopped around 8:30am. The flurries left about 9cm of snow on the ground, according to the bureau. This was in addition to the 7cm of snow that fell on the mountain on Feb. 20, forecasters said. The flurries reduced visibility to less than 10m yesterday.
Forecasters also said yesterday that rainy days will continue to early next week and residents in mountainous areas have to be alert to possible mudflows and landslides triggered by heavy rains.
"Heavy rain warnings have been issued," bureau forecaster Tang Shuen-lan (湯舜然) said.
"For the mountainous areas of Hsinchu, Miaoli, Taichung and Nantou counties, accumulated rainfalls within the next week could exceed 200mm," he added.
Tang also said that residents in the north will have to rely on thick clothing to keep warm over the weekend because temperatures might hit low at 13?C in the north, 18?C in central Taiwan and 19?C in the south. The nation's weather will be affected by another cold front expected to arrive on Monday. The temperature would not increase until Wednesday, the bureau said.
Also yesterday, Water Resource Agency director-general Chen Shen-hsien (
"For the past three springs, we experienced problems related to droughts. But so far we have accumulated sufficient rains, which refill reservoirs [around the country]. Water supplies to agricultural, industrial and residential area are ensured until at least June," Chen said.
Meanwhile, flood prevention construction presided over by the agency would be finished by late April to minimize possible property damage in the event of a flood.
In other news, the Taipei City Government yesterday launched activities related to this year's flower season, which runs through March 27. The recent cold weather provides the perfect conditions for cherry blossoms at Yangmingshan, officials said.
City officials also said this year's flower season would be more attractive to tourists because of the cold weather.
However, during the month-long flower season, tourists are encouraged to take public transportation. Tourists can be transported to the mountain by shuttle buses available at Peitou, Shihpai and Yuanshan MRT stations.
On Yangte Boulevard, the main road leading to Yangmingshan, traffic will be controlled from 6am to 5pm. Outbound traffic will be controlled from 5pm to 8pm.
Officials said that tourists will also enjoy light decorations along main routes and at several famous scenic spots, including Flower Clock and Fountain Pond.
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