Heavy snow predicted in Gangwon Province, with other regions to see rain on Sunday

Tourists take photos of red apricot flowers at Tongdosa Temple in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, as daytime temperatures reached as high as 18 degrees Celsius on Wednesday. (Yonhap)
Tourists take photos of red apricot flowers at Tongdosa Temple in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, as daytime temperatures reached as high as 18 degrees Celsius on Wednesday. (Yonhap)

Following days of warm spring weather, South Korea will see a dip in temperatures from Sunday, with heavy snowfall predicted in some parts of the country, the Korea Meteorological Administration said Thursday.

According to the KMA, as the northern high-pressure system expands above Korea, northerly cold winds will begin to move into the peninsula from the north, causing a significant drop in temperatures from Sunday.

As a low-pressure system moves along the southern parts of the Korean Peninsula, the KMA added that rain will begin to fall from Jeju Island on Saturday.

The rain clouds will then move north into the southern provinces, later expanding all across Korea from Sunday morning due to easterly winds blowing against the high-pressure system.

The KMA added that some regions, such as the inland and mountainous parts of Gangwon Province, the northeastern mountainous parts of North Gyeongsang Province and the eastern parts of Gyeonggi Province, may see snow instead of rain Sunday due to the significant drop in temperatures.

Visitors enjoy a picnic at Gyeongpo Beach in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, Wednesday, as daytime temperatures reached as high as 18 degrees Celsius that day. (Yonhap)
Visitors enjoy a picnic at Gyeongpo Beach in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, Wednesday, as daytime temperatures reached as high as 18 degrees Celsius that day. (Yonhap)

Specifically, mountainous parts of Gangwon Province may see heavy snow advisories issued through Monday morning. Depending on low temperatures, more heavy snow advisories may be issued in other parts of the country.

Due to warm, southerly winds, temperatures around 7 degrees Celsius higher than previous years are expected to persist until Saturday. Average daytime temperatures nationwide Friday and Saturday are expected to reach as high as 18 C and 15 C, respectively.

“However, a strong variation in morning and daytime temperatures are expected (on Friday and Saturday), as a temperature difference of more than 10 C may be observed,” said KMA official Woo Jin-kyu. Average nationwide morning temperatures Friday and Saturday are expected to record up to 3 C and 6 C, respectively.

Meanwhile, yellow dust began to cover Korea from Thursday, which moved into the country from the Gobi Desert and the Mongolian Plateau overnight. Adding to the week's already high concentrations of fine dust, “bad” or “very bad” fine dust levels were nationwide throughout the day.

According to the National Institute of Environmental Research, air quality will recover to normal levels from Friday due to northeasterly winds, with some western parts of Korea, including the North and South Chungcheong provinces and North and South Jeolla provinces temporarily experiencing “bad” fine dust concentration levels into Saturday morning.


lee.jungjoo@heraldcorp.com