Snow flurries and strong winds hit Seoul and other major areas on Monday, with negative single digit temperature set to continue throughout this week.
The Korea Meteorological Administration estimated an accumulation of less than 1 centimeter of snow in Seoul and up to 10 centimeters in Jeolla Province.
The KMA said Chungcheong Province and Jeolla Province will see more snow until late this week.
Snow started to fall around 8 a.m. in Seoul on Monday morning, as the temperature dropped to minus 0.5 degrees Celsius. The temperature continued to drop to minus 1.4 degrees Celsius in the afternoon, when the snow flurries became milder.
Monday’s snow was forecast to be the mildest of the week.
Weather forecasts said the morning low will plummet to minus 7 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, and the temperature during the day will drop by 10 degrees Celsius later Tuesday. Factoring in wind chill, temperatures will fall by more than 7 degree Celsius, approximately as low as minus 8 degrees this week in capital areas.
Wind chill temperature is the rate of heat loss on the human body due to a sudden drop of the temperature and strong wind.
Forecasters warned those venturing outside to stay bundled up against the strong wind, as the temperature will remain freezing throughout the week. They also urged caution on the streets as roads may become icy.
The KMA said the 2014-15 winter will have a greater temperature change year-on-year due to a large-scale circulation of winds, and the west coast area will see more snow compared to other regions.
Precipitation will remain at similar levels as last year.
According to the KMA, the first snow in the capital areas was observed in mid-November when the morning low hit subzero temperature in Seoul. It said that the first snow of the season was four days earlier than the previous year.
By Kim Da-sol, Intern reporter ()
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
