Viet Nam’s National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting issued a colder weather alert Sunday for Central Viet Nam due to the National Weather Service’s forecast for low temperatures in the region.

Colder week is ahead as a cold front ushers a very cold airmass into mid-central region and South Central Coast.

Health experts are urging children, the elderly, and people with disabilities or special medical needs who are especially vulnerable during cold weather to take extra precaution to ensure they don’t get too cold when they are outside. People exposed to cold weather for prolonged periods can lose body heat and develop hypothermia, clinicians warn.

The National Weather Service predicts showers Sunday across Northern Viet Nam and North Central Coast with moderate to heavy rain likely in some places due to the strong influence of an intense cold front and the upper-tropospheric westerly winds.

Showers with a chance of thunderstorms are forecast for the parts from Quang Binh to Thua Thien-Hue Sunday into Monday. Thunderstorms can produce tornadoes, lightning, hail and strong winds.

By the coastal areas of Northern Viet Nam they will see high winds at level 4, and farther inland you could find northeast winds at level 3.

The Gulf of Tonkin and the Northern East Sea (including the waters of the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Archipelago), could witness strong cold northeasterly wind at level 7, and the gusts reaching levels 8 to 9, as well as experience rough seas with waves as high as 2-5m.

The offshore areas of Central Viet Nam will see gradually increasing winds at level 6, and gustiness of levels 7 to 8, and experience rough seas with waves as high as 2-4m high.

Freezing temperatures are expected to strike the northern region and North Central Coast Sunday into Tuesday, February 22. The national weather forecaster has issued an extreme cold weather alert for Northern Viet Nam and Thanh Hoa as temperatures are expected to dip 8 to 10 degrees Celsius, and 3 to 6 degrees Celsius in their mountainous areas. Frigid temperatures can be expected in high mountains where can be as cold as zero on the temperature scales with the chance of frost and snow for these areas.

Temperatures in the parts from Nghe An to Thua Thien-Hue can expect lows of 13 to 16 degrees Celsius.

Scattered rains with thunderstorms are in forecast over the parts from Thanh Hoa to Thua Thien Hue. These areas will see cold temperatures for the morning and night hours. Temperatures in these areas can expect lows of 10 to 13 degrees Celsius and 13 to 16 degrees Celsius in their northern and southern parts respectively, highs of 12 to 15 degrees Celsius and 15 to 18 degrees Celsius in the northern and southern parts respectively.

Sunday expects the sky to remain mostly cloudy across the northern part of the region from Da Nang to Binh Thuan with the chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms while the southern part is likely to see isolated showers and thunderstorms during late afternoon and night hours. Temperatures in these areas can expect lows of 19 to 22 degrees Celsius and 22 to 25 degrees Celsius in their northern and southern parts respectively, highs of 23 to 26 degrees Celsius and 27 to 30 degrees Celsius in the northern and southern parts respectively.

Sunshine is forecast for the Central Highlands and there is a chance of showers and thunderstorms during late afternoon and night hours in some places. Maximum and minimum temperatures will hover around 28-31 degrees Celsius and 18-21 degrees Celsius.

Reporting by TTXVN/Vietnam+ - Translating by H.L