Winter monsoon to chill northern Vietnam through Tet holiday

For the last two days, northern Vietnam has experienced fog and light rain at night and in the early morning, with a bit of sunshine at noon. Temperatures in Hanoi have ranged at 18-24 degrees Celsius, while high altitude areas like Sa Pa in Lao Cai recorded temperatures of 10-18 degrees.

Starting Friday night, however, a winter monsoon from the northeast will deliver rain and possibly thunderstorms and hailstorms, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

From January 29-February 2, more cold air will bring temperatures in the region down to 9-11 degrees Celsius, with the highest temperature during the day at around 16 degrees. Mountainous areas may record temperatures below 7 degrees Celsius, and may experience snow and frost.

U.S. weather forecast service AccuWeather has said Hanoi would experience a maximum temperature of 25 degrees Celsius by Friday, drop to 17 degrees Saturday and 12 degrees Sunday. Night-time temperatures would be in the 10-12 degrees Celsius range.

In Sa Pa, daytime temperatures would hover around 6-11 degrees, while night time temperatures could drop to 3 degrees, AccuWeather said.

In central Vietnam, from Thanh Hoa to Thua Thien-Hue Province, temperatures will be 25-29 degrees Celsius during the day until Friday. From Jan. 29 due to impacts of the monsoon, temperatures would drop to 13-19 degrees from January 29 to February 2.

Southern Vietnam and Central Highlands regions will continue to enjoy sunny days with little rain. Southern Vietnam will experience temperatures of 21-33 degrees Celsius until February 6, while the Central Highlands will experience temperatures of 16-31 degrees in the same period.

Tet, or the Lunar New Year Festival, is Vietnam's most important holiday. It runs this year from January 29 to February 6.