[Weather] This Weekend Morning Temperature in Seoul 5°C... Below Freezing in Northern Gyeonggi

This weekend morning, the northern Gyeonggi region and the inland and mountainous areas of Gangwon will experience cold weather, with temperatures dropping below freezing in some places.

On the morning of the 20th, as Seoul's morning temperature dropped below 10 degrees, a brief autumn chill arrived. At the Gwanghwamun intersection in Seoul, citizens wearing thick coats hurried to work. Photo by Jo Yongjun jun21@

On Saturday the 21st, the morning low temperatures are expected to range from 0 to 11 degrees Celsius. This is 3 to 8 degrees lower than the morning temperatures on the 20th (5 to 14 degrees) and the average temperatures for this time of year (5 to 14 degrees). On the morning of the 21st, temperatures in northern Gyeonggi and the inland and mountainous areas of Gangwon, as well as high-altitude mountainous regions outside these two areas, will drop below freezing, causing ice to form, so precautions should be taken to prevent cold damage.

The cold weather is largely due to the expansion of a continental high-pressure system from northern China, broadly speaking, from the west of South Korea. Winds blow clockwise along the edge of the high-pressure system in the Northern Hemisphere, and as the continental high-pressure system expands, South Korea is exposed to cold northern winds along its edge. In particular, as the continental high-pressure system expands, the distance between this high-pressure system and the low-pressure system that recently brought rain to South Korea and moved eastward has decreased, intensifying the winds.

Strong wind warnings have been issued for the west coast, southern coast of Jeollanam-do (some areas), and Jeju, where gusts of 70 km/h (90 km/h in mountainous areas) or more are expected until the morning of the 21st. Other regions are expected to experience strong winds with gusts around 55 km/h (70 km/h in mountainous areas) until the same time.

The clear skies and dry atmosphere due to the high-pressure system are also reasons for the cold mornings. During the day, sunlight heats the ground, and at night, the accumulated heat escapes into the atmosphere through active radiative cooling. There are no clouds acting like a blanket to block the release of radiative heat, nor moisture in the atmosphere to retain the heat.

The highest daytime temperatures on the 21st are expected to be between 14 and 19 degrees Celsius. This is similar to the daytime temperatures on the 20th (14 to 20 degrees) but lower than the average temperatures for this time of year (19 to 23 degrees). The temperature difference between day and night will also widen significantly, ranging around 10 to 15 degrees.

The expected daytime high temperatures are 5 and 16 degrees in Seoul, 8 and 16 degrees in Incheon, 5 and 18 degrees in Daejeon, 8 and 18 degrees in Gwangju, 6 and 18 degrees in Daegu, 7 and 17 degrees in Ulsan, and 9 and 19 degrees in Busan. In Gangwon’s Daegwallyeong, the morning low is forecasted at -2 degrees Celsius, and the daytime high at 10 degrees.

On Sunday the 22nd, the nationwide morning low temperatures are expected to range from 1 to 11 degrees Celsius, with daytime highs between 17 and 21 degrees. The atmosphere in the Yeongdong area of Gangwon is currently dry, so caution is advised to prevent fires such as wildfires.

Swells will continue to affect the east coast until the 22nd, causing waves high enough to overflow breakwaters and coastal roads. Swell waves can particularly strongly surge onto sandy beaches, so it is advisable to avoid coastal areas if possible. Strong winds of 35 to 60 km/h and waves 2 to 4 meters high are expected until the morning of the 21st in the West Sea, southern offshore waters of the South Sea (excluding the eastern offshore waters), central offshore waters of the East Sea, and Jeju waters; until the night of the 21st in the eastern offshore waters of the East Sea; and until the early morning of the 22nd in the outer offshore waters of the East Sea.

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