Central Weather Bureau forecast center director Cheng Ming-dean (鄭明典) yesterday warned that people should beware of potential damages caused by low temperatures due to cold air from the Arctic in the coming weeks.
Cheng said on Facebook that an extremely cold air mass moved toward North America last month, leading to large snowfalls in the US and Canada. The cold air mass gradually weakened and moved northeast.
However, there is another cold air mass from the Arctic that is moving southwest, he said.
“People in the East Asia region can expect relatively colder weather for some time, Cheng said. “Taiwan could also be affected by the cold air and people should be aware of damage it can do.”
Based on the bureau’s forecast, temperatures in northern and northeastern regions would continue sliding with the cold air mass to arrive on Friday, with the probability of rain being higher in those parts and in mountainous areas in central and southern Taiwan.
Because of the arrival of the cold air mass, the bureau forecast that temperatures at the weekend would drop nationwide, with the low being from 12oC to 15oC.
Meanwhile, people in Yilan, Hualien and areas further north should expect highs of 16oC to 18oC, while in the south, highs could drop to between 20oC and 21oC, the bureau said.
However, temperatures could rise a bit on Sunday, it said.
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