[Tomorrow's Weather] Winter Rain on the Commute... Temperature Drops Sharply from Afternoon, Severe Cold

On the 26th, as the morning temperature in Seoul dropped to minus 0.2 degrees Celsius, bringing back the below-zero cold, office workers in Jung-gu, Seoul, are seen wearing coats on their way to work along Samil-daero. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Tomorrow, Tuesday (30th), a cold front will pass through South Korea, bringing heavy rain of up to 60mm. Following the rain, a strong cold wave is expected.

Warm air currently occupies the upper atmosphere over South Korea, but a trough of low pressure carrying cold air around minus 30 degrees Celsius is approaching from the west. This trough will move closer to South Korea by tomorrow morning, causing the cold and warm air to mix and develop a low-pressure system.

By around 9 a.m. tomorrow, the center of the low pressure will be located over North Korea, with a cold front extending north to south over South Korea, resulting in short but heavy rainfall nationwide.

In Seoul, the heaviest rain is expected around the morning rush hour at 9 a.m. Rainfall on the southern coast, near Jirisan, and Jeju Island is expected to range from 20 to 60mm. Other regions are forecasted to receive 5 to 40mm of rain. Most of the rain is expected to stop by around 9 p.m. the same day.

However, in Chungcheong and Jeolla provinces, rain clouds formed over the Yellow Sea may bring rain until the afternoon of Wednesday, the 1st of next month.

After the cold front passes, temperatures are expected to drop sharply. In the central region, rain may change to snow around 3 p.m.

If snow falls, accumulation is expected to be 2 to 7 cm in inland Gangwon and Jeju mountain areas, 1 to 3 cm in inland Gangwon, central and southern Chungbuk, and inland Jeonbuk, and around 1 cm in eastern Gyeonggi, northern Chungbuk, Chungnam, western inland Gyeongsang, the five western islands, Ulleungdo, and Dokdo.

Tomorrow morning's low temperatures are expected to range from 0 to 11 degrees Celsius, with daytime highs between 8 and 16 degrees Celsius. Expected low and high temperatures in major cities are Seoul 7°C and 9°C, Incheon 8°C and 10°C, Daejeon 6°C and 11°C, Gwangju 9°C and 12°C, Daegu 4°C and 12°C, Ulsan 5°C and 15°C, and Busan 11°C and 15°C.