Forecasters predict a weather roller coaster

Shanghai's temperature is set to be on a roller coaster this week, with the high expected to soar to 27 degrees Celsius at the weekend.

Tuesday was chilly with thick clouds over skies. The low temperature recorded at the city's benchmark Xujiahui Weather Station was 3.7 degrees and the high was 8.5 degrees.

Wednesday is expected to be cloudy with rainfall arriving at night as warm and moist air currents intensify, forecasters said. Temperatures will fluctuate from 5 to 15 degrees.

After the rain stops on Thursday, temperatures in city are expected to rise rapidly. The high is forecast to exceed 23 degrees by Friday, then soaring to 27 degrees by Sunday.

While the warm-up will not last long, temperatures will plunge to around 10 degrees next Monday with gale-force wind and rainfall brought by a new cold spell, forecasters said.

Precipitation is forecast to reach moderate to heavy levels from Monday to Tuesday.