Heavy Snow Advisory Issued for Western Seoul Metropolitan Area and Central-Southern Gangwon

Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] A heavy snow advisory has been issued as heavy snowfall is expected from the afternoon to night of the 18th in western Seoul metropolitan area and central and southern inland areas of Gangwon.

The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) announced a heavy snow advisory at 10 a.m. on the 18th for Seoul, Incheon, Gwangmyeong, Gwacheon, Ansan, Siheung, Bucheon, Gimpo, Dongducheon, Goyang, Yangju, Uijeongbu, Paju, Suwon, Seongnam, Anyang, Guri, Namyangju, Gunpo, Uiwang, Hanam, Yongin, Hwaseong, Gwangju in Gyeonggi Province, and the plains of Pyeongchang County, Hoengseong, and the plains of Hongcheon County in Gangwon Province.

According to the KMA, as of 10 a.m., a snow cloud band formed over the West Sea is moving eastward at a speed of 35 km/h. This snow cloud band is expected to affect the west coast between noon and 2 p.m.

The Seoul metropolitan area including Seoul and inland Chungnam will be under the influence of the snow cloud band from 2 to 4 p.m., and Gangwon Yeongseo from 3 to 5 p.m.

Focusing on the metropolitan area, snow will begin falling on the west coast of Incheon and Gyeonggi between noon and 2 p.m., expand to Seoul and western Gyeonggi between 2 and 3 p.m., and then fall across the entire metropolitan area from 3 p.m.

The snow cloud band is elongated north to south and short east to west, so the time the snow cloud band passes over a specific area will be limited to 1 to 2 hours. Therefore, heavy snow will fall in a short period.

In Seoul, about 4 cm of snow per hour is expected to accumulate between 3 and 6 p.m. Other metropolitan areas will see about 3 cm per hour of snow falling for 1 to 2 hours between 2 and 6 p.m.

Most areas will see the snow change to flurries overnight. However, some areas in northern Gyeongbuk, southwestern Gyeongbuk, and inland western Gyeongnam will continue to see snow at night. The southeastern inland area of Gyeongbuk will experience some light snow flurries during the same time.

Snow will fall again in the early morning of the 19th. Expected snowfall amounts are 3 to 8 cm in Seoul, inland Gyeonggi, inland and mountainous areas of Gangwon, and mountainous areas of Jeju; 1 to 5 cm in Incheon, western Gyeonggi coast, Chungcheong, Jeolla, the five West Sea islands, Jeju excluding mountainous areas, northern inland Gyeongbuk, Ulleungdo, and Dokdo; about 1 cm in southwestern inland Gyeongbuk and inland western Gyeongnam; and less than 0.1 cm in southeastern inland Gyeongbuk.

The KMA advised, "Snowfall amounts will vary greatly even within the same region," and urged people to "continuously check the latest weather information."

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