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Taiwan's forum flags May as plum rain season, running roughly mid-May through mid-June, with rainfall that swings unpredictably between all-day drizzle and sudden downpours - an umbrella is a daily essential, not a maybe. The genuinely useful local tip: Hualien and the east coast often stay sunnier than the west side of the island during this stretch, since the Central Mountain Range blocks a lot of the weather systems coming off the Taiwan Strait. Hot and humid is the baseline regardless, so pack light layers along with the rain gear.

Regulars are specific that this month's real wildcard is a cold front - without one, expect a mild, easy 17-25C, but a genuine front passing through can knock daytime highs down to 15-20C within a day or two. Our row backs the warm, still-humid, wet read overall, 25C over 22.1C nights, with a heavy 138.4mm of rain across 17.5 days and humidity up to 83 percent. Regulars are consistent an umbrella or raincoat is genuinely necessary rather than optional, particularly for evening trips to the night markets, even though the rain itself is rarely a heavy, thundery downpour. Buildings are specifically flagged as running cold inside regardless of the outdoor temperature, worth a layer for indoor stops. The sea sits at 23.8C. The record: 5 hours of sun, a 16.2 kph wind and AQI 58.

Regulars describe this as one of the year's most comfortable stretches - chilly rather than cold, with a real cold front the exception rather than the rule - and call November into December the most soothing period to travel in Taiwan. Their rain estimate runs lower than our column, about one day in three against our 18 days across the month; either way it is well down from the typhoon-season peaks of September and October. Our row gives 20.7C reading as 21C over 17.8C nights at 81.6 percent humidity, with 130.9mm of rain. Their packing answer is a sweater and a windproof or rain shell rather than heavy winter clothing, saving the thicker jacket for a side trip up to Alishan. The sea holds 21.1C. The record: 3.9 hours of sun, a 16.1 kph wind and AQI 64.

April sits in the gap between the winter rains and the plum rains, which is exactly why regulars name it: expect drizzle and overcast days rather than downpours. The plum rain season proper runs mid-May to mid-June and only occasionally reaches back into late April. Warm enough for short sleeves from the start of the month, around 26C by day and 22C at night - our row reads 26C over 21.7C, feeling like 29C at 83 percent humidity. Carry a rain jacket. Our 127.4mm across 14.7 days with 8.2 hours of sun is the grey half of that description. The record: a 22.6C sea and AQI 84.

February in Taipei is mild, grey and wet in a particular way. Regulars put late February at 16 to 22C, with a cold front capable of dropping it to 6C for a couple of days, and describe February and March rain as a light but constant drizzle rather than downpours - an umbrella is the item everyone names. Our row agrees and sharpens it: 89.3mm across 12.9 precipitation days at 82 percent humidity, and only 4.9 hours of sun a day, which is the lowest sunshine figure in this whole round. The consensus is that Taiwan stays cool until early April, so February is layers. The record: 20C days, 16.2C nights and AQI 70.