Cold air brings snow to Taiwan

A strong cold front chilled Taiwan from Saturday and brought snow to some mountainous areas during the weekend, along with excitement to many people who had never seen snow in the island before.

The cold air came to Taiwan on Friday evening and caused temperatures to drop from Saturday to Monday to lowest level in more than a decade in most parts of Taiwan, the meteorological authority said.

Take Taipei for example, the cold air sent temperature down to 4 degrees Celsius Sunday morning, the lowest level in 43 years.

To many people's surprise, snow visited many mountainous areas in the northern part of the island, including Yangmingshan (or Yangming Mountain) in the northern suburb of Taipei, attracting many people to go uphill to witness the rare sight.

The authority forecast that the temperature in Taipei may fall to 3 degrees early Monday, comparing with an average winter temperature of around 16 degrees..

It has issued warnings for low temperatures and heavy rain across Taiwan, urging the public to take precautions and keep warm before the cold wave leaves the island early Tuesday.