The first cold wave this winter is scheduled to arrive on Saturday, lowering the temperature in the north to 8?C, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday.
The cold front coincides with two events scheduled to take place this weekend: college entrance examinations beginning on Friday and the Taipei Standard Charter Marathon on Sunday.
Bureau forecaster Lin Ping-yu (林秉煜) said that people would feel the effects of the cold front on Saturday, with the temperature predicted to drop to 9?C in Taipei on Saturday night.
He said the temperature in the plains in northern Taiwan could potentially drop to 8?C.
Heavy rain is expected to arrive Thursday night and continue through Friday prior to the arrival of the cold front, Lin said, adding that chances of showers would be high on the west coast.
The cold front might not be rated as the strongest in the nation’s history, Lin said, adding that people still need to keep themselves warm, as it is likely to affect the nation from Saturday until Monday next week.
Lows on the west coast and in the northeast would remain between 11?C and 12?C on Sunday, the bureau said, adding that lows in Hualien and Taitung are forecast to be about 15?C.
Daytime temperatures for Sunday are forecast to rise slowly, due to clouds and rain, with highs at 13?C to 14?C in northern, central and northeastern Taiwan. Highs in the rest of the nation are forecast to be between 16?C and 18?C.
Some meteorologists forecast that temperatures could dip to 4?C.
However, bureau forecast center director Cheng Ming-dean (鄭明典) said that the temperature is unlikely to drop that low.
“Due to global warming, it is rare for people in Taipei to see an extremely low temperature,” Cheng said, adding the temperature dropped to 7?C in the winter of 2013.
Cheng said that the cold front scheduled to arrive this weekend is not particularly strong and that it is too early to forecast unusually low temperatures.
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