Cold weather arrives after nationwide rain

Following the rain that fell across the country on Monday, temperatures are expected to drop significantly on Tuesday morning, with some areas likely to see morning temperatures below freezing and the first cold wave alerts.

The Korea Meteorological Administration forecast that the morning temperature in Seoul on Tuesday will drop to 3 degrees Celsius, which is 12 C lower than the previous day, marking the coldest weather this fall. In northern Gyeonggi Province and some parts of Gangwon Province, morning temperatures are expected to drop below zero.

About 1 to 3 centimeters of snow is expected to fall over mountainous areas of Gangwon Province early Tuesday, around 1 cm in northeastern Gyeonggi Province, and less than 1 cm in northeastern North Gyeongsang Province. The KMA warned citizens to take caution as the snow could freeze overnight, creating icy roads.

The inflow of significantly cold air from the northwest in the upper atmosphere, which reaches minus 25 C, is causing the sudden drop in temperature, the weather agency explained.

Cold wave warnings were to take effect from Monday 9 p.m. in Gangwon Province and northeastern North Gyeongsang Province, the KMA said. Cold wave advisories were to be in place in northern Seoul, eastern and northern Gyeonggi Province and Gangwon Province. This is the first cold wave alert to be issued this fall.

A cold wave warning is issued when the morning temperature is forecast to drop more than 15 C compared to the previous day, while a cold wave advisory is for when the temperature drops more than 10 C.

Temperatures will creep up from Thursday, but more severe cold will begin again from Sunday. Temperatures in Seoul are expected to drop below freezing on Sunday for the first time this fall.

The daily lowest temperatures across the country next week are expected to hit between minus 4 and 16 C, and daytime highs will remain between 6 and 23 C, which is similar to or slightly lower than records of an average year.