Three or four typhoons are likely to hit Taiwan in the second half of this year, which is within the normal range, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday, as the nation enters the typhoon season this week.
Typhoons mainly occur from July to September, with a majority of them happening in August.
So far, five tropical storms and typhoons have formed in the northwest Pacific Ocean this year, the bureau said.
On average, 20 to 25 tropical storms and typhoons are expected to occur in the northwest Pacific from this month to December, with three to four of them affecting Taiwan directly.
“We have estimated that the number of typhoons in the northwest Pacific Ocean in the next six months to be from fewer than normal to normal, but there is a good chance that the number of typhoons hitting Taiwan would be close to normal,” Weather Forecast Center Director Lu Kuo-chen (呂國臣) said.
While La Nina, a dominant influence last year, is weakening, Lu said that the latest development has no bearing on the number of tropical storms and typhoons that would affect Taiwan this year.
However, in a La Nina year, a tropical storm or a typhoon is generally formed closer to Taiwan, he said.
Meanwhile, bureau data showed that the average temperature last month was 27.8°C, making it the warmest May since 1947.
The average temperature last month and this month, also known as the plum rain season, was 28.06°C, 1.08°C higher than the average, the bureau said, adding that it was the second warmest May based on the nation’s meteorological data.
In addition, 17 of the bureau’s weather observation centers recorded their highest May temperature this year, it said.
Rain in this year’s plum rain season has helped address a drought that had plagued the nation from January to last month, with the average rainfall being 447.1mm, the bureau said.
Rain mainly came through three weather fronts, which affected the nation from May 30 to June 1, on June 5 and 6, and from Tuesday to Friday last week, the bureau said, adding that rainfall in the south exceeded that in the north.
“For the summer, we estimate rain to fall within the normal range. The temperature is expected to be higher than average,” Lu said.
A strong continental cold air mass and abundant moisture bringing snow to mountains 3,000m and higher over the past few days are a reminder that more than 60 years ago Taiwan had an outdoor ski resort that gradually disappeared in part due to climate change. On Oct. 24, 2021, the National Development Council posted a series of photographs on Facebook recounting the days when Taiwan had a ski resort on Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County. More than 60 years ago, when developing a branch of the Central Cross-Island Highway, the government discovered that Hehuanshan, with an elevation of more than 3,100m,
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