No White Xmas Expected This Year

No white Christmas is expected Thursday for the third year in a row, the Korea Meteorological Administration said yesterday.

“Certain regions will be affected by cold continental high-pressure system, resulting in snow Monday. After the snow, the rest of the week will be clear nationwide until the weekend, which will have a low possibility of rain,” a weather forecaster said.

The last time Seoul had a white Christmas was in 2005 with 0.7 centimeters of snow.

The lows on Christmas morning will be between minus eight and plus five degrees Celsius the highs between zero and ten degrees during the day.

Chilly weather is expected for Seoul today, with temperatures dropping as low as minus nine degrees in the morning. The lows will be between minus 10 and zero degrees in the morning and the highs between minus four and plus seven during the day nationwide.

The provinces of Gangwon and North and South Jeolla, the east coast of North Gyeongsang Province, the west coast of the Jeolla provinces and Jeju Island will have clear skies after snow or rain. Certain regions including the mountainous areas of Gangwon will see as much as 15 centimeters of snow.

The west coastal area could see snow again at night, while the rest of the nation is likely to see cloudy skies.

firedy@donga.com