Nantou county: Soft hail fell on Hehuan Mountain in Nantou County early Friday, prompting the Highway Bureau to close a section of Provincial Highway 14 leading to Dayuling from 5 p.m.

According to Focus Taiwan, the soft hail blanketed Songxue Lodge on the mountain twice early Friday, at 5 a.m. and 7 a.m., as reported by staff at the Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area. Soft hail, also called snow pellets, is a type of solid precipitation that forms when subfreezing water droplets adhere to falling snowflakes and freeze, explained the Central Weather Administration (CWA). These pellets are typically ball or cone-shaped and have a looser texture compared to snow.

A section of Provincial Highway 14A between Cuifeng (18-kilometer mark) and Dayuling (41.5km mark) will be closed preemptively starting 5 p.m. Friday, allowing vehicles to exit but not enter, as stated in a press release by the Highway Bureau on Friday. The stretch between Wuling (31.7km mark) and Songxue Lodge (32.7km mark), known for being steep, winding, and slippery, will be fully closed in both directions, the bureau added.

Officials will announce at 8 a.m. Saturday whether the road will reopen fully or remain open only to vehicles equipped with snow chains, according to the statement.