With the arrival of this winter’s first cold spell and abundant moisture, Hehuanshan’s Wuling peak in Nantou County, central Taiwan, saw brief and light snowfall early Sunday morning, according to the Central Weather Bureau (CWB).
The temperature on the mountain dropped to 1.3 degrees Celsius below zero at 3 a.m. Sunday. Coupled with abundant moisture, that resulted in solid precipitation (snow pellets or snow) for about 10 minutes on Wuling, which is at 3,275 meters above sea level, according to data posted on the CWB website.
The stunning view wowed travelers who had waited overnight there to see snowfall, because it’s a rare occurrence in Taiwan. Some of them happily shouted “It finally snowed!” and thought the snow made their long wait worth it.
However, with reduced moisture in the air, snowfall is unlikely on Taiwan’s 3,000-meter-plus high mountains — Hehuanshan and Yushan — during the daytime on Sunday, the CWB forecast.
Meanwhile, as the cold spell is forecast to linger until Monday, temperatures are expected to fall to below 10 degrees around Taiwan, the CWB said.
The bureau issued an “orange” cold surge advisory on Sunday for northern Taiwan, Taichung, Changhua, Nantou, Yunlin, Chiayi, Tainan, in the central and southern regions, as well as Yilan and Hualien in the east, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties.
An orange signal means temperatures in low-lying areas of these regions will drop to as low as 6 degrees or will hover around 12 degrees for 24 hours.
The bureau also issued a “yellow” cold surge warning indicating temperatures in low-lying regions will fall to as low as 10 degrees for Chiayi City, Kaohsiung, and Pingtung County in the south and Taitung County in the east.
As of Sunday morning, the lowest temperature recorded for any low-lying area in Taiwan proper was 5.7 degrees at Cape Fugui in New Taipei’s Shimen District, followed by 9.0 degrees in the Taipei weather station, according to the CWB.
The cold surge will be at its strongest between Sunday and early Monday morning, while stable weather with clear skies is expected across Taiwan, according to meteorologist Wu Der-rong (???).
Beginning Monday daytime, the cold air will gradually dissipate, while sunny weather with rebounding temperatures will continue through Tuesday, Wu added.
From Wednesday to next Sunday, another wave of cold, dry air is expected to arrive although its strength will be weaker than the current one. Temperatures in low-lying areas during early morning hours could still hover below 10 degrees, according to Wu.
Due to the cold snap, temperatures in Taiwan declined sharply on Saturday, with Cape Fugui on the northernmost point of Taiwan recording 8.1 degrees at 7:10 p.m., the lowest of any low-lying area on the island for the day.
On Friday and Saturday, a total of 121 out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) cases were reported across Taiwan although these could not be determined to be associated with cold weather, fire authorities said.
However, fire authorities called on the public, particularly those with heart disease, to stay warm and be aware of the increased risk for cardiovascular events during cold weather.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel