Cold, snow and rain await after record precipitation hits Korea

Social Affairs

Published: 12 Dec. 2023, 17:16

Cold, snow and rain await after record precipitation hits Korea

Cars pass along on the Daegwallyeong part of the Yeongdong Expressway in Gangwon on Tuesday morning. The Daegwallyeong region saw heavy snowfall from Monday. [YONHAP]

Parts of Korea saw record amounts of rain and snow on Monday.

With temperatures set to plummet on Wednesday, heavy rain and snow will likely return Thursday.

The city of Gangneung, Gangwon, experienced 91.2 millimeters (3.59 inches) of rain on Monday, the highest daily total in December since the authorities began recording precipitation data in 1934.

Daegwallyeong, Donghae and Taebaek — also in Gangwon — saw over 50 millimeters of rain.

Daejeon, Gunsan in North Jeolla and Uljin in North Gyeongsang also set new rainfall records.

Daejeon had 37 millimeters of rainfall, and Gunsan saw 40 millimeters of rain.

Uljin saw 80.2 millimeters of rain on Monday alone, with a cumulative total of 202 millimeters between Sunday and 11 a.m. Tuesday.

Nearby Samcheok in Gangwon saw 234 millimeters of rain during the same period.

Mountainous regions in Gangwon with low temperatures experienced snow.

Hyangnobong, a mountain peak in Goseong County in Gangwon, saw 73.7 centimeters (2.41 feet) of snow.

In Gangwon, heavy rain and snow advisories were issued simultaneously for the first time in 24 years.

Some 50 mountain trail paths were closed. The province government is carrying out snow removal operations.

The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) lifted heavy rain and snow warnings by 1:30 a.m. Tuesday.

The weather agency said coastal areas in Gangwon could see snow or rain until Tuesday evening, warning of potentially hazardous road conditions as frozen snowfall creates icy roads.

Residents and tourists in Haeundae District in Busan are with their umbrellas amid the rainfall in Busan on Monday. [SONG BONG-GEUN, JOONGANG PHOTO]

A low-pressure system from China picked up a significant amount of vapor while passing through the peninsula’s southern territories. The incoming hot and humid southeasterly wind created heavy winter rainfall.

Woo Jin-kyu, an official from the KMA, said, “Jeolla and Gyeongsang regions were influenced by strong rain clouds carried by low pressure, and coastal areas next to the East Sea were hit by heavy rainfall because of additional southeasterly wind.”

Although the rain has retreated in most regions, the temperature is forecast to plummet overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday.

Wednesday morning will be five to 10 degrees Celsius lower than Tuesday.

The wind chill in Seoul will be around zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit). Inland areas will see subzero temperatures.

The cold spell will fade Thursday when more rain is expected to fall nationwide.

“Rain will start in Jeolla regions, south Gyeongsang and Jeju on Thursday morning and spread across the country by the daytime,” the KMA said.

Though rain is expected to soak the country until the weekend, Saturday will see another temperature drop that could turn rain into snow.

“Low pressure coming from the west or southwest could bring relatively heavy rainfall similar to Monday’s rainfall,” Woo said.

BY CHUN KWON-PIL, LEE SOO-JUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]