Average rainfall recorded by weather stations south of Hsinchu County was the lowest in 60 years, potentially leading to water shortages if plum rains in May and June fall short of expectations, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said yesterday.
The weather this winter was marked by wide temperature swings and a paucity of rain in regions other than the north and the windward eastern half of Taiwan proper, Weather Forecast Center Deputy Director Chen Yi-liang (陳怡良) told a quarterly briefing in Taipei.
The weather stations at Sun Moon Lake (日月潭), Alishan (阿里山), Chiayi and Tainan — the oldest of which was established in 1933 — recorded the lowest-ever accumulated rainfall, Chen said.
Photo courtesy of the Hualien District Office via CNA
The average accumulation recorded by the five weather stations in Hsinchu and areas south was 31.4mm, the lowest in the past 60 years, he said.
The low rainfall was second only to the winter of 2018 to 2019, which preceded a historic drought the following year, he said.
In addition, snow did not fall on Yushan (玉山), the nation’s highest peak, this winter for the first time since records began, Chen added.
Average temperatures in Yushan this season passed the seasonal average of 2.9oC to reach 3.03oC, the third-highest in history, he said.
Projections based on dynamic model simulations on the bureau’s supercomputer showed that mild temperatures, but a less-than-average volume of rain, are likely to prevail this spring, due largely to a fading La Nina effect, Chen said.
This means that temperatures are likely to be normal from this month to May, while the second- most likely scenario is for the mercury to rise slightly higher than average levels, Chen said.
Rainfall for this month is projected to range from average to a little below average, and normal for next month and May, he said.
Although no signs of a thunderstorm have been observed, they are still likely to occur, as the weather in spring is wont to rapid changes and weather fronts can take form with little warning in Taiwan, he said.
There is a high chance of fog, especially in the outlying islands that comprise Kinmen County and the southwestern parts of Taiwan proper, Chen said.
The plum rains in May and June might bring respite to water shortages in Taiwan’s central and southern regions, but the bureau would be able to make better predictions after weather fronts and air streams take form, bureau senior meteorologist Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said.
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