A photo capturing a scene where it looks like a hole has been punched in the sky, causing rain to pour down in a narrow area, is spreading on online communities and becoming a hot topic.
On the 11th, multiple online communities, including the anonymous worker community 'Blind,' posted photos taken on the 10th showing localized heavy rain pouring down in Wonju City, Gangwon Province. The photo shows heavy rain pouring behind Wonju Sports Complex in Myeongnyun-dong, Wonju City. While rain clouds spread widely across the sky, the photo confirms the appearance of localized heavy rain pouring only in certain areas. The poster shared the photo saying, "I looked outside and thought a nuclear bomb had exploded."
According to some reports, the authenticity of the photo has not yet been confirmed, but the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) confirmed that on the previous day around 5 p.m., a shower cloud capable of producing about 70 mm of rain per hour developed northeast of Wonju Sports Complex. Also, a caf? owner near the Wonju Sports Complex told Yonhap News Agency, "I remember a shower lasting about 30 minutes starting from 5 p.m.," and an employee at the Myeongnyun 2-dong Administrative Welfare Center said, "It rained as if there was a hole in the sky. Even when operating the windshield wipers in the car, they couldn't wipe away all the rainwater, making it hard to see ahead, and cars were driving slowly on the six-lane road," according to reports.
Netizens who are residents of Wonju also left comments such as, "That was the area I was in yesterday. No wonder it suddenly rained heavily and the wind blew so hard that even the store's outdoor banner was torn," and "It rained heavily like that yesterday, but after 10 minutes, it became sunny."
Netizens who saw the photo reacted with comments like, "It looks like a composite," "It looks like a waterfall is falling from the sky," and "Looking at the recent rain patterns, it seems hard to predict. It really rains like a Southeast Asian squall."
Localized heavy rain like the one that poured in Wonju City is not rare. The KMA explained that a characteristic of this summer's monsoon is that developed rain clouds repeatedly pour strong and heavy rain over narrow areas. Another characteristic of localized heavy rain is the difficulty in accurately predicting the timing and location of showers. The KMA forecasted that localized showers of 5 to 40 mm will pour mainly over inland and mountainous areas until this weekend. It also stated that graupel caused by atmospheric instability may fall mainly in inland and mountainous areas of Gangwon and Gyeongbuk provinces.
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