Snow fell on Alishan (阿里山) for the first time in seven years yesterday morning, as a strong continental cold air mass sent temperatures plunging across Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said.
The Alishan weather station, at an elevation of about 2,200m in central Taiwan, recorded snowfall from 8:55am to 9:15am, when the temperature dropped to about 1°C, the CWA said.
With increased moisture and low temperatures in the high-altitude Alishan area, the conditions were favorable for snow, CWA forecaster Tsai Yi-chi (蔡伊其) said.
Photo courtesy of Bear Trekker
The last time snow fell at the Alishan weather station was on Jan. 10, 2018, while soft hail fell there on Jan. 27, 2020, Tsai said, adding that yesterday’s snowfall was the first in the area in seven years.
Snow also fell in other high-altitude areas from early morning until about 10am, including Jiaming Lake (嘉明湖) and nearby Xiangyang Mountain (向陽山) in eastern Taiwan, which recorded their first snow of the year, Tsai said.
At about 4am, snow and ice pellets began falling at Jiaming Lake Mountain Hut, a resting point on the famous Jiaming Lake trail, local mountain guides said.
At about 10am, snow and soft hail were also reported at Xiangyang Mountain Hut, a resting point on the same trail, the guides said.
On Yushan (Jade Mountain, 玉山), the country’s highest peak, sleet fell late on Wednesday night, and temperatures plunged to about minus-5°C early yesterday, with rime ice coating the vegetation on the 3,952m-tall mountain, Tsai said, adding that people should beware of icy mountain roads.
In other parts of Taiwan, temperatures early yesterday morning generally ranged from 11°C to 13°C in central and northern areas and in Yilan County, 13°C to 15°C in eastern areas and southern Taiwan, and below 10°C in some low-lying areas, CWA data showed.
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