Warm Christmas expected, followed by colder weather: CWB

A warm and dry Christmas is in the forecast, but the mercury is likely to drop sharply two days later as seasonal winds increase, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said Friday.

According to the CWB, highs of 22 degrees Celsius can be expected Saturday and 26 degrees on Christmas Day (Sunday) in northern Taiwan, with mostly sunny skies.

However, Christmas Eve in northern Taiwan is forecast to be significantly cooler, with lows of between 16 and 18 degrees.

In central and southern Taiwan, temperatures are likely to rise to 28 degrees on the weekend, forecasters said.

On Monday, the weather will remain warm islandwide, with the mercury hitting 27-28 degrees but there will be a greater chance of rain in the north, the CWB said.

From Tuesday, however, strengthening seasonal winds will send daytime temperatures down to 20 degrees in northern Taiwan, 21 degrees in central and 24 degrees in southern parts of the country, it said.

By Thursday, the mercury is likely to drop another three degrees islandwide and rain can be expected across Taiwan, CWB data showed.

Wu Der-rong (???), a meteorologist and adjunct associate professor of atmospheric sciences at National Central University, said the seasonal winds may be strong enough to be categorized as cold air mass, as indicated in data from the European Center for Medium range Weather Forecasting.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel