Weathering the Storms: Taiwan's Turbulent Weather Patterns

Taiwan's elongated shape is sometimes affectionately said to resemble a sweet potato. It straddles the Tropic of Cancer, which divides the island into two different climate zones: humid subtropical in the north and tropical monsoon in the south. The north has a greater temperature range, averaging 21°C, and rainfall throughout the year. The south deviates less from its annual average of 24°C and enjoys a dry winter. However, the southwestern monsoon makes up for it from late spring to fall, unleashing 80-90 percent of the annual southern precipitation. The concentrated period of thunderstorms and typhoons is no storm in a teacup and may cause flash floods and landslides, posing a serious threat to crops, power lines and human settlements.

In the north, the heavy rains from May to June are known as "plum rain season," as they coincide with the ripening of plums. Despite the romantic epithet, the deluges steal the show with the most successive rainy days. Nevertheless, there is a silver lining in these dark clouds: the spring downpours and about four annual typhoons bring much-needed water to quench the land's thirst and ensure a good harvest season. Typically, only the highest peaks such as Jade, Snow and Hehuan Mountains get a blanket of snow, though even mid-altitude ridges have been painted in white in recent years.

台灣天氣小百科

台灣的瘦長形狀有時被暱稱像是顆蕃薯。這座島嶼橫跨北回歸線，因此劃分出兩個不同的氣候區：北部是亞熱帶潮溼氣候，南部則是熱帶季風氣候。北部的溫差範圍較大，平均溫度為攝氏 21 度，全年有雨。南部溫差較小，平均溫度為攝氏 24 度，並享有乾燥的冬季。不過，春末至秋季的西南季風彌補了冬季的乾燥，帶來南部年雨量 80%-90% 的降雨。這段大雷雨和颱風密集的時節可不是茶杯裡的風暴，它們可能導致暴洪與山崩，對作物、電力系統和人類聚落帶來嚴重威脅。
在北部，五月至六月的多雨現象被稱為「梅雨季」，因為正值梅子成熟的時節。這個名稱雖然浪漫，卻被最長連續降雨日的暴雨搶盡鋒頭。儘管如此，這樣的天氣還是有其益處：春季的大雨和一年約四次的颱風帶來了為大地解渴亟需的水量，也能確保作物豐收。一般而言，只有玉山、雪山與合歡山等最高的山峰才會有白雪皚皚的情形，但近年來連中等高度的山脈也有被雪覆蓋的記錄。