The Central Weather Administration (CWA) recorded a temperature of 8.4°C in Shihding District (石碇), New Taipei City, early this morning, the lowest temperature on Taiwan proper.
The CWA issued cold surge advisories for most parts of Taiwan, warning of lows below 10°C through tonight, as a strong continental cold air mass and radiational cooling continued to affect the country.
Photo: Taipei Times
An "orange" alert was issued for Kinmen County, New Taipei City, Taipei, Taoyuan, Hsinchu County and Yilan County, signaling sustained temperatures around or below 10°C, with some areas possibly dropping below 6°C.
A "yellow" alert, warning of minimum temperatures below 10°C, was issued for Keelung, Hsinchu City, Miaoli County, Taichung, Changhua County, Nantou County, Yunlin County, Chiayi City, Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung.
As of 9:26am today, CWA data showed that the three lowest temperatures in low-elevation areas across Taiwan were 5.8°C in Kinmen's Jincheng Township (金城), 6.8°C in Lienchiang County's Nangan Township (南竿) and 7.2°C in Kinmen's Lieyu Township (烈嶼).
The agency said the cold conditions were caused by a strong continental cold air mass combined with radiational cooling, a process in which heat is released from the ground into the atmosphere.
Independent meteorologist Wu Der-rong (吳德榮) citing the latest model simulations said that strong cold air would blanket Taiwan from tomorrow through Saturday morning.
While the intensity of the cold air is comparable to the previous cold spell, clear and stable weather conditions are expected to enhance the effects of radiational cooling, Wu said.
Although temperatures at elevations above 2,000m could still fall below freezing, snowfall is unlikely, he said.
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