‘Mindle’ Swept Away, But Lots of Rain Today

Mindle, this year’s seventh typhoon, poured lots of rain in the southern part of the country before being swept nearly 200km southwest on the sea around 9 a.m. yesterday.

However, today it is expected to rain locally up to more than 200mm.

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) yesterday, Mindle maintained its power until it reached 30 degrees north latitude, but changed into a tropical depression as it drew near Jeju Island and became an extratropical cyclone around noon.

An official from KMA explained, “The power of Mindle was maintained up to 30 degrees north latitude since the temperature of the water surface was as high as 27 degrees. However, the typhoon was swept away as the temperature of the water suddenly decreased to 22 to 23 degrees near Jeju and the cold air advancing southwards affected it.”

The extratropical cyclone, however, still has a lot of steam, so it is expected to continue to rain today. The forecasted rainfalls are 100 to 200mm in the Kangwon Yeongdong Province, 60 to 80mm in Seoul, Gyeonggi, Youngnam, and the Kangwon Yeoungseo Province (up to more than 120mm locally), and 20 to 70mm in the Chungcheong Honam Province and the Jeju island.

Meanwhile, Mokpo recorded 149.5mm of rainfall as of 2 p.m. yesterday as it poured 64.5mm an hour, a record downpour. It rained 130mm in Gwangju, 96mm in Haenam, 144mm in Sanchung and 66mm in Seoul.

Ji-Young Chae yourcat@donga.com