Weather to turn cooler this week under the influence of the northeast monsoon

The weather in northern regions became noticeably cooler on Sunday as cold air from the north descended on the island. The coldest periods during this wave are forecast to be in the early hours of Monday and Tuesday, when lows in the northern regions are expected to average 17 degrees. It’ll warm up a little on Wednesday before a second wave of cold air arrives on Thursday. This will send the mercury plunging again to 16 degrees. While the central and southern regions won’t be affected as much, the CWB says residents there should expect large temperature swings between daytime and nighttime.

Saturday’s slightly warmer temperatures proved to be ephemeral as the mercury dropped again on Sunday. The island’s plains saw temperatures of 20 degrees. The current drop in temperatures is just the first of two waves of cold air that will arrive this week.

Liu Pei-teng
CWB forecaster
The first wave started to pick up today and will affect us on Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday, the northeast monsoon will weaken a little, and temperatures will bounce back a little. But after Thursday, there will be another wave of the northeast monsoon. This next wave will likely be stronger, and temperatures could drop to 16 or 17 degrees.

The first wave of the northeast monsoon already started to make itself felt on Sunday. The forecaster says Taiwan’s northern and eastern regions, particularly in Keelung and along the north coast and mountainous regions in greater Taipei and Yilan, will be prone to localized heavy rains on Monday and Tuesday. Temperatures in northern Taipei will dip to as low as 17 degrees as a result of this first wave of cold air. On Wednesday, the northeast monsoon will weaken, and the weather will warm up. However, on Thursday, another wave of the northeast monsoon will arrive, and its influence will last into the weekend. The northern regions could see lows of 16 and 17 degrees. Even though this will only have a minor impact on the central and southern regions, the CWB reminds the public to pay attention to temperature swings between daytime and nighttime.

Liu Pei-teng
CWB forecaster
The change in rainfall patterns won’t be very great. People in the northern and eastern regions should watch for the possibility of rainfall this coming week. Rainfall on Wednesday will taper off. However, people in the northeastern regions that are on the island’s windward side, along with Keelung and the north coast should watch for heavy rain. Daytime temperatures in the central and southern regions could reach 25 or 26 degrees. So in the coming week, people in the southern and central regions should watch for nighttime and daytime temperature shifts.

The gap between the two waves of cold air won’t feel obvious. Northern Taiwan will get the brunt of the northeast monsoon all week. As the CWB’s Director-General Cheng Ming-dean wrote on Facebook, we’re already into a Taipei winter.