Heavy Snow Blankets Eastern Coast and Busan

An unprecedented amount of heavy snow fell in the East Sea regions in Gangwon Province and North and South Gyeongsang Provinces.

The regions have seen the largest amount of snowfall since the meteorological agency began observing weather: 90.0 centimeters of snow fell in Gangwon Province near the East Sea starting at dawn on March 4 through March 6, 67.5 centimeters in Youngdeok and 57.6 centimeters in Uljin, North Gyeongsang Province.

Most notably, Busan had a record amount of snow, 37.2 centimeters, since the agency began looking at the weather in 1904.

The snowstorm is greater than what the middle part of the nation had on March 4 and 5 of last year (up to 49 centimeters), dubbed as “the biggest snowfall in 100 years.”

What caused the heavy snow was the clash of warm, low pressure (in the lower part) and a cold, low-pressure trough in the East Sea, which created a huge snow cloud that flowed inland, blowing against the Baekdoo range.

In other words, warm low-pressure, which came up from the South to the East Sea, clashed with cold air of 40 degrees below zero at an altitude of five kilometers, thereby forming a very thick snow cloud. The Meteorological Administration found out that the air went up due to topographic effects after it blew against the Baekdoo range and poured heavy snow on the areas near the East Sea.

As a result, mountain villages saw a layer of 50 to 90 centimeters of snow, while regions without mountains had a meager 10 to 20 centimeters of snow.

Jong-Dae Ha orionha@donga.com