TAIPEI, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- The arrival of the first cold current this year brought snow to a number of mountains in Taiwan Tuesday, with plain areas recording the lowest temperature this winter.

The first snow of the year began to fall on the 3,886-meter-high main peak of Xueshan Mountain, the island's second highest peak, in central Taiwan early Tuesday morning, accumulating about 20 centimeters at the deepest point.

Hail and snow also fell on Hehuanshan Mountain, which is more than 3,000 meters high, according to the local weather department.

A total of 12 weather stations in Taiwan reported the winter's lowest temperatures, Tuesday morning, with the temperature in Tamsui, northwest Taiwan, falling to 8.8 degrees Celsius, the lowest recorded in the island's plain areas this winter.

The cold surge is expected to become stronger in the next two days.