Seasonal northeasterly winds and abundant moisture have resulted in the first snow pellets this winter on the central Taiwan mountain of Hehuanshan early Wednesday, according to staff members of the Hehuanshan Forest Recreation Area.

The snow pellets — which are formed when supercooled water droplets are collected and freeze on falling snowflakes — began around 7:10 a.m. and lasted until 8 a.m., they said. However, as the snow pellets were accompanied by showers, only thin ice accumulation was spotted, they said.

The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) has limited information about the precipitation on the 3,422-meter-high mountain since it does not have a manned weather station there.

According to CWB’s weather data, the temperature on the peak was 3.9 degrees Celsius around midnight and dropped to 1 degree at 7 a.m., with cloudy skies and occasional rain.

As many as 14 millimeters of rainfall were recorded there between midnight and 8 a.m., the bureau said.

While even lower temperatures are expected in northern and eastern Taiwan in the coming days as seasonal winds strengthen, chances for snow in high mountains could drop as moisture dwindles after noon Wednesday, the CWB said.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel