Heavy snow, rain sweep Korea with more wintry weather ahead

Korea Herald

03-03-2025

Close to 50 centimeters of snow fall overnight in mountainous regions of Gangwon Province
South Korea was hit by heavy rain and snow from Sunday night to Monday, causing travel disruptions and safety concerns, with more snow and rain forecast nationwide starting Tuesday morning.
According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, heavy snow was observed overnight in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, Gangwon Province and the Chungcheong provinces.
Monday's heavy snowfall resulted in several accidents nationwide, though no injuries or deaths have been reported as of 11 a.m. Four reports were made to officials regarding stranded vehicles, where 10 were rescued. Eleven traffic accidents were also reported and 51 additional safety reports were made to officials regarding accumulated snow.
As of 11 a.m., 53 ferry services have been canceled and 10 flights remain grounded. 13 national parks currently remain closed to the public while 13 roads have also prevented cars from passing through to prevent further safety incidents.
Much of Gangwon Province saw accumulated snowfall of 10 to 30 centimeters, while eastern parts of Gyeongggi Province, North Chungcheong Province and northern parts of North Gyeongsang Province saw 5 to 15 cm of accumulated snow.
Mountainous regions in Gangwon Province were hit the heaviest, as some regions reported up to 49.6 cm of accumulated snow as of 6 a.m., Monday. Some mountainous regions in North Gyeongsang Province also saw heavy snow, with Uljin-gun and Mungyeong receiving 24 cm and 15.6 cm, respectively.
In places where snowfall wasn't observed, rain was recorded instead, as Seoul saw 22 millimeters of rain while Hwaseong in Gyeonggi Province and Chungju in North Chungcheong Province saw around 35 mm of rain, respectively. In mountainous regions in Jeju Island, up to 82 mm of accumulated rainfall was also recorded as of 6 a.m., Monday.
As of 11 a.m., Monday, heavy snow advisories, which were focused around central parts of Korea, were lifted in most regions, excluding North Gyeongsang Province and Ulsan, which saw 1 cm of hourly snowfall as of press time. In Korea, a heavy snow advisory is issued when snowfall is expected to reach above 5 cm within 24 hours to brace for possible accidents and disruptions.
However, according to the KMA, rain clouds are expected to form and move toward the Korean peninsula again from Tuesday morning.
'As cold air moves toward the Korean peninsula and the low pressure system approaches (Korea) from the south, rain clouds are expected to form, leading to nationwide rain,' told KMA official Woo Jin-kyu during a press briefing held Sunday.
Woo added that heavy rainfall or snowfall can be expected to be focused around the central and southern parts of Korea, with mountainous regions in Gangwon Province, North Gyeongsang Province and Jeju Island expecting to see accumulated rainfall of up to 40 mm on Tuesday. Cities such as Gwangju, Daegu, Busan and Ulsan may see up to 30 mm of accumulated rainfall, while southern parts of Gyeonggi Province as well as Incheon and Seoul can expect to see accumulated rainfall ranging between 5 mm to 10 mm.
Depending on temperature conditions, rain clouds also have a chance of turning into snow clouds, as mountainous regions in Gangwon Province can expect to see up to 10 cm to 30 cm of accumulated snow while Seoul and Incheon can expect to see up to 5 cm of accumulated snowfall.
The precipitation is expected to stop as the low pressure system moves toward Kyushu, Japan on Tuesday night. However, as cold air is brought into mountainous parts of Gangwon Province by northeasterly winds, heavily hit regions can expect to see as much as 100 cm of snow until Wednesday.
Though Korea recorded of seeing warmer than average temperatures in recent days, the KMA added that a sharp drop in temperatures can also be expected starting Tuesday, as cold air moves into the peninsula from the north.
On Tuesday, morning lows are expected to range between minus 4 degrees Celsius to 4 C, while daytime temperatures are expected to range between 2 C to 9 C. Cold temperatures are expected to continue throughout the week, with winds of 55 to 70 kilometers per hour dropping wind chill temperatures significantly compared to actual temperatures.