Chilly forecast for Friday morning

The mercury is expected to plunge sharply on Friday morning. The Korea Meteorological Administration said Thursday that temperatures on Friday morning would be this fall¡¯s lowest, influenced by the cold continental high pressure approaching from northwest of the peninsula.

The mountainous district in Kangwon-do is expected to be cloudy and to have some rain or snow, depending on the area. The probability of rain is 30 percent.

Weathermen said the mercury nose-dived on Thursday night and that it will be windy Friday. There will be frost and frozen water in some mountainous areas.

They asked farmers to take precautions to prevent farming products and facilities from being damaged by the cold.

The chilly weather is expected to continue through Saturday and to ease from Sunday, they predicted.

By region, Taegwallyong Pass will see the lowest temperature of 1 degree Celsius, followed by 2 degrees in Chorwon, three in Suwon and Chunchon, four in Chongju and five in Seoul and Taejon, three to six degrees lower than Thursday.

Daytime highs will also go down to 12-20 degrees Celsius, the weathermen said. Waves will be 1.5-4 meters high but are expected to go down beginning in the afternoon.

Chung Seong-Hee shchung@donga.com