The nation is likely to have a hotter plum rain season after having experienced a colder and more humid spring, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday.
The state-run meteorology agency issued its forecast for the plum rain season, which generally lasts from May to June.
It also concluded its weather observations for spring, which ends today.
Photo: CNA
The average temperature this spring was 20.4°C, slightly below the climatic average of 20.8°C, Weather Forecast Center Director Chen Yi-liang (陳怡良) told a news conference in Taipei.
Nearly all automatic weather stations reported lower average temperatures in spring due to the arrival of two cold waves, six waves of continental cold air masses and a few bouts of the northeast monsoon, Chen said.
Further analyses of weather data showed that 11 monitoring stations reported the third-coldest average spring temperature since 2011, he said.
The average temperature in February was lower than the climatic average, while average temperatures recorded last month and this month fell within the normal range, he said.
CWA data also showed that the number of days this spring in which temperatures dropped to 14°C or below reached 30, the third-highest in the past two decades, he said.
The average spring rainfall was higher than the climatic average due to the influences of rain fronts, he said.
The agency recorded average spring rainfall of 321.3mm, higher than the climatic average of 282.8mm from 1991 to 2022, he said.
Precipitation in February and last month was slightly above average, while the rainfall this month was slightly below average, he said.
“We think that this year’s spring was colder, because of persistent northeast winds, and overall temperatures along the coastal areas of East Asia were lower as well. There has been more spring rain this year, because of the interactions between convective cloud systems from the South China Sea and east of the Philippines, and the northeast monsoon,” Chen said.
Temperatures during the upcoming plum rain season are likely to be “between normal and slightly higher,” while rainfall would be “between normal and slightly lower,” he said.
When the plum rain season starts depends on region, with the amount of accumulated rainfall varying every year without any fixed patterns, Chen said.
Plum rain in northern Taiwan would probably begin during the first half of next month, while residents in southern Taiwan would probably have to wait until the second half of next month or even later, Chen said.
Rainfall in central and southern Taiwan would likely be lower than normal next month, he said.
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