First sign of ice appears in Seorak and Jiri mountains

The first sign of ice in the upcoming winter was observed in Mt. Seorak and Mt. Jiri on Wednesday morning. Temperatures will go up by three to five degrees Celsius the next morning, but the daily temperature range will be wide and chilly weather will continue until the weekend.

The Korea National Park Service under the Ministry of Environment announced that some ice was observed on the ground surface near the Jungcheong Mountain Shelter at the Mt. Seorak National Park in Gangwon Province at 5 a.m. on Wednesday, two days earlier than the last year’s record. Ice was also found near the top of Mt. Jiri’s Cheonwangbong on the same day.

The cold air from the north has led to a sudden drop in temperatures nation-wide, reaching the lowest temperatures in this fall, for example, 0.6 degrees below zero in Hoengseong County, Gangwon Province; 0.2 degrees below zero in Bonghwa County, North Gyeongsang Province; 0.3 degrees in Daegwallyeong; and 7.9 degrees in Seoul. However, with temperatures rising with the midday sun, cold wave watches issued in some parts of Gyeonggi, Gangwon, and North Gyeongsang provinces were all withdrawn at 10 a.m. Wednesday

The Korea Meteorological Administration predicted the lows to be ranging from six to 15 degrees and the highs to be ranging from 18 to 25 degrees across the country on Thursday. Strong winds are expected from Saturday due to Typhoon No. 19 Hagibis, which is forecasted to make landfall in Tokyo on Thursday.

A huge gap between a continental anticyclone over the Korean Peninsula and a powerful tropical cyclone of the typhoon will bring very strong winds and high waves across all seas of South Korea, in particular over the East Sea and the South Sea.


kej09@donga.com