Rainfall Across the Country Over 3 Days, Nationwide January Precipitation Sets Record High

Unusual Large Influx of Water Vapor in Winter
Most Regions Nationwide Experience Maximum Temperatures Over 10 Degrees Above Average

Average wind at 300hPa from January 1 to 8 this year (arrows) and the climatological anomaly shown in colors (Provided by the Korea Meteorological Administration)

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] Rainfall from January 6 to 8 across various regions nationwide, including Seoul and Daegu, set a new record for the highest cumulative precipitation over three consecutive days in January.

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration on the 9th, the accumulated rainfall over the past three days (January 6?8) was recorded as follows: Seoul 59.7 mm, Incheon 47.9 mm, Suwon 59.1 mm, Gangneung 59.2 mm, Chuncheon 78.8 mm, Daejeon 69.7 mm, Daegu 39.3 mm, Busan 37.0 mm, Ulsan 40.6 mm, Gwangju 50.3 mm, and Jeonju 67.6 mm.

Except for Gangneung and Busan, all these locations broke their previous records for the highest amount of rain over three consecutive days in January.

It is unusual for winter precipitation to be rain rather than snow. The Korea Meteorological Administration explained that this was due to the weaker intensity of the cold air moving south compared to the average year, and the increased amount of water vapor flowing in from central and southern China.

Low pressure intensity and movement path from 9 a.m. on the 7th to 9 a.m. on the 8th (Provided by the Korea Meteorological Administration)

In particular, a low-pressure system that formed in southern China on the 5th developed explosively in an unusual manner as it passed over South Korea, bringing a large amount of water vapor from the south and causing heavy rain in most regions nationwide. The daily rainfall on the 7th reached record highs for January, with Suwon recording 50.8 mm, Daejeon 57.0 mm, and Jeonju 50.2 mm.

Meanwhile, on the 7th, very warm air flowed into South Korea along the southeastern side of the strongly developed low-pressure system, causing temperatures to be more than 10 degrees Celsius higher than the average for this time of year. The daily maximum temperatures recorded that day were the highest ever for January, with Jeju at 23.6°C, Jangheung at 19.6°C, and Yeosu at 17.4°C.

The Korea Meteorological Administration forecasted that temperatures would continue to be somewhat higher than average until next weekend.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.