The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday forecast that the nation is likely to experience a warmer-than-average and slightly drier winter as a La Nina-like pattern continues to develop in the Pacific.
Sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific are currently cooler in the eastern Pacific and warmer in the western Pacific, a typical precursor to La Nina conditions, it said.
In years with similar patterns, air currents from the south tend to be slightly stronger than normal, meaning leeward areas in western Taiwan might experience less rainfall and slightly higher temperatures, said Lo Ya-yin (羅雅尹), deputy director of the CWA’s Weather Forecast Center.
Photo: Chen Yi-kuan, Taipei Times
However, La Nina indicators are not yet well defined, indicating that significant year-to-year variations in weather patterns are still possible, she said.
This autumn was Taiwan’s warmest since records began in 1951, Lo said.
From September to November, the average temperature in Taiwan was 26.5°C, well above the climatological norm of 25.1°C.
Rainfall during the period totaled 644.2mm, roughly in line with the long-term average, but the number of rainy days was unusually low — only 26.5 — the fifth fewest on record, she said.
Separately, the CWA yesterday said that a localized “strong wind advisory” function on its Web site officially goes online next month.
The new function, which began testing in March, provides users of the Web site with district and township-specific wind information for the following 48 hours in three color codes, Lo said.
A yellow signal warns that the wind in a specific location could measure between 6 and 8 on the Beaufort scale over the next two days, with wind speeds reaching 39kph and gusts starting at 62kph.
An orange signal cautions that average wind conditions could fall within the 9 to 11 range on the Beaufort scale over the next two days, when wind speeds would reach 75kph and gusts would hit 103kph.
A red signal, the most severe classification that would normally be used ahead of typhoons, shows that a specific region could see winds in a 12 to 14 range on the Beaufort scale within the next two days, with average wind speeds reaching 118kph and gusts starting at 149kph.
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