TAIPEI, Dec 26 — Snow appeared on Taiwan’s highest mountain, Yushan, early today as a continental cold air mass pushed temperatures below freezing, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said.
According to Focus Taiwan, snowflakes were visible on Yushan’s North Peak between 6.28am and 6.38am, though they did not cover the ground and no accumulation was reported.
As of 7.42am, the lowest temperature recorded across Taiwan was minus 5.5 degrees Celsius at Yushan’s Fengkou observatory and minus 4.7 degrees at the Yushan observatory, the CWA said.
In lowland areas, the coldest reading was 10.1 degrees in New Taipei’s Shiding District, followed by 10.3 degrees in Taoyuan’s Yangmei District.
The CWA issued cold surge advisories for northern Taiwan and Kinmen County, placing New Taipei and Yilan under an “orange” alert for sustained temperatures near 10 degrees, while Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Miaoli and Kinmen were under a “yellow” alert.
Forecasts showed temperatures ranging from 10–16 degrees in the north, 11–20 degrees in central Taiwan, 13–24 degrees in the south, and 12–23 degrees in the east.
The CWA also predicted brief showers in northern and northeastern regions, with localized heavy rain possible along the Keelung coast, in Yilan County, and in mountainous areas around Taipei.
