The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday forecast heavy rain in northern Taiwan today, and said that temperatures in low-lying areas nationwide could drop to 10°C over the weekend.
Stronger northeasterly winds would bring increased moisture to northern Taiwan today, raising the likelihood of heavy rain in areas such as Yilan County, the northern coast near Keelung, and mountainous areas around Taipei and New Taipei City, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said.
Areas north of Taoyuan and the eastern half of the country could see localized showers, while Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula might experience sporadic rain, he said.
Photo: CNA
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are expected to range from 19°C to 23°C today, while southern Taiwan would have highs of 26°C to 28°C and lows of 17°C to 19°C, Huang said.
As the northeasterly winds weaken tomorrow, northern and northeastern Taiwan would experience only intermittent rain, but the winds are forecast to strengthen again on Thursday and Friday, bringing another round of localized showers to areas north of Taoyuan, the east coast and the Hengchun Peninsula, he said.
A cold front is expected to arrive late on Saturday, with the early mornings on Sunday and Monday likely to be the coldest period and temperatures potentially dropping to 10°C in low-lying areas.
Lows of 13°C to 15°C are forecast for areas north of central Taiwan, while southern Taiwan and Taitung might report lows of 15°C to 17°C, he added.
Meanwhile, the CWA said that a geomagnetic storm triggered by solar activity is expected to intensify early today and persist for about 39 hours, with its peak potentially causing brief disruptions to satellite navigation and radio communications.
A geomagnetic storm is a temporary disturbance in Earth’s magnetic field caused when bursts of solar wind or plasma from the sun interact with the planet’s magnetosphere.
In an alert, the CWA’s Space Weather Operational Office said that a significant coronal mass ejection from an active region of the sun on Sunday sharply increased the speed and density of solar wind in interplanetary space, and its effects are expected to sweep past near-Earth space early today.
Geomagnetic activity is forecast to strengthen from 5am today and remain elevated for about 39 hours, briefly reaching the intensity level of a moderate geomagnetic storm, the agency said.
The storm might cause brief disruptions to satellite navigation and low and high-frequency radio communications, the CWA said.
Auroral activity might also be visible at latitudes as low as 50 degrees magnetic latitude, the agency said.
Certain protective devices in power systems could issue false alarms that require voltage adjustments, it said, adding that some satellite equipment could experience electrical charge buildup, while low Earth orbit satellites could face increased atmospheric drag, potentially requiring attitude corrections.
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