The Central Weather Bureau yesterday asked the public to beware of torrential rain and even tornados over the next two months as the nation enters the plum rain season.
The period of the year gets its name from the season when Chinese plums ripen. Around this time of year, stationary fronts hover over Taiwan, bringing days of rain and potentially flooding many areas.
The bureau said rainfall over the next two months generally accounts for 33 percent of the year's total. A large percentage of the rain is brought by typhoons, which normally occur between July and September.
Daniel Wu (吳德榮), director of the bureau's forecast center, said rainfall during the plum rain season this year would very likely fall within normal range.
The accumulated rainfall on the plains is likely to top 700mm, whereas mountainous regions may receive in excess of 1,000mm, he said.
“Rain is likely to start in northern Taiwan around mid-May,” Wu said.
“People in southern Taiwan will begin to feel the plum rain season toward the end of May,” Wu said.
Wu said chances of torrential rain and thunderstorms were high during this time, adding that they could develop into a typhoon.
Temperatures are also expected to be high during this time, he said.
Meanwhile, Wu said the bureau was monitoring the movement of a tropical disturbance lingering around the South China Sea and the Philippines.
The tropical disturbance could lead to the formation of this year's first typhoon, Wu said.
“It is not entirely impossible that we'll see [the year's] first typhoon in May,” he said.
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