250mm Rain Bomb in Two Days... Heavy Rain to Pour Again from This Afternoon

A Long and Narrow Rain Cloud Band East to West
Moving Up and Down the Korean Peninsula with Long and Heavy Rain

The monsoon rain, which had temporarily subsided, is returning to the Korean Peninsula. On the 13th and 14th, the Seoul metropolitan area is expected to receive up to 250mm of heavy rainfall.

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) on the 13th, a stationary front is forming over the Korean Peninsula as the cold and dry Tibetan high pressure system approaching from the west near China's Shandong Peninsula expands along with the warm and humid North Pacific high pressure system from the south. This stationary front, which started bringing rain to western regions such as Chungnam and Honam from early morning, is expected to bring rain mainly to the central region over the next two days. As of 10 a.m., rain began falling in some metropolitan areas including Seoul, Incheon, and Suwon in Gyeonggi Province.

On the 11th, when heavy monsoon rain was pouring, a citizen is walking with an umbrella at Ihwa Bridge in Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

On the 14th, the stationary front stretching across the Korean Peninsula is expected to move southward, colliding again with warm and humid air flowing in from the south, forming strong rain cloud bands, according to the KMA. The KMA explained that due to the rain cloud bands being long east-west but narrow north-south, there will be significant regional differences in rainfall amounts. If the southward movement of the rain cloud bands stagnates, heavy rainfall may concentrate in one area.

Accordingly, rainfall of 50 to 150mm is forecast nationwide except for Jeju Island during the 13th and 14th. The Seoul metropolitan area is expected to receive over 250mm, and some areas in inland and mountainous Gangwon, Chungcheong region, and northern Jeonbuk may see over 200mm of rain. Especially in the central region, very heavy rain of 30 to 80mm per hour is expected from the afternoon, so caution is advised regarding facility management and safety accidents.

When about 250mm of heavy rain fell over the central region for two days last July, two people died and over 100 reports of house flooding were received throughout Seoul. The KMA urged, “Although damage can vary depending on the intensity of the heavy rain even with the same amount of rainfall, since the ground is already weakened due to recent heavy rains, thorough preparedness is necessary.”

The stationary front will bring rain while moving north and south until the 17th, and some areas may experience rain as late as the 20th. However, the rainfall from this monsoon rain may also be highly variable. Depending on the development of a low-pressure system on the Chinese side on the 13th, the rainfall area may shift toward North Korea, and on the 14th, changes in rainfall areas may occur depending on the extent of the southward movement of cold and dry air from the north.

The KMA explained, “Depending on the position of the stationary front, there may be large differences in rainfall amounts by region in the north-south direction,” adding, “The degree of southward movement of the stationary front may vary due to blocking in the mid-level atmosphere at high latitudes, so the areas experiencing heavy rain will also be variable.”

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