Snow hits Seoul ahead of Thursday's big chill

People walk in Myeong-dong, central Seoul, as snowflakes fall on Tuesday. [NEWS1]

Snow will hit the greater Seoul area during Tuesday's evening rush hour.

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), Incheon, Gyeonggi, and South Chungcheong areas near the Yellow Sea began receiving snow Tuesday afternoon.

Other parts of the greater Seoul area, inland regions of Gangwon and North Chungcheong, were expected to experience snow after 6 p.m. Tuesday.

The KMA warned drivers to be careful with snow falling during peak evening traffic hours.

The snow clouds covering the metropolitan area were forecast to retreat overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday, moving southward.

South Chungcheong, Jeolla provinces and Jeju Island would likely see snow on Wednesday morning.

The KMA forecasted that Seoul, northern parts of Gyeonggi, and inland areas in Gangwon would see one to three centimeters (0.39 to 1.18 inches) of snow from Tuesday to Wednesday.

Regions near the Yellow Sea and the Chungcheong area will see two to 10 centimeters of snow in the same period.

North Jeolla is expected to see five to 10 centimeters of snow, with some areas seeing up to 15 centimeters through Wednesday.

On Wednesday, the Gyeongsang region will see lighter snow, less than one centimeter.

Wednesday's morning lows are anticipated to be between minus 11 degrees Celsius (12.2 degrees Fahrenheit) and one degree Celsius.

Daytime highs will range between minus seven and four degrees Celsius, according to the weather authority.

An even more frigid cold snap will grip the country on Thursday.

The country will experience morning lows between minus 20 to minus five degrees Celsius. The daytime highs will be around minus 10 to one degree Celsius.

With strong winds expected, windchill will be five degrees lower than actual temperatures.

A cold wave warning will likely be issued nationwide if temperatures plummet more than 10 degrees Celsius from the day before.

The KMA urged drivers to exercise extra caution on roads, warning that “areas that experienced snow on Wednesday could have icy roads on Thursday as temperatures drop.”

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]