First snow of the season blankets the nation

It was a rare rather wild first snow of the season. Many parts of the country, including Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, saw the first snow of this winter. Snow did not pile up in most areas due to small precipitations, but snow storm even erupted amid gusty winds.

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, a weather survey office in Seoul’s Jongno district monitored the first snow of this winter at around 2:10 p.m. on the day. Thus, Seoul saw the first snow three days earlier than in previous years and five days later than last year. Fairly heavy snow was monitored at many places in Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi regions. Notably, the Gwanghwamun area in central Seoul had snow storm so strong that people could hardly open their eyes around 3 to 4 p.m. First snow was also monitored in certain inland areas in the Chungcheong, Jeolla and Gyeongsang provinces as well. In Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, snowfall reached 5.2 centimeters at 9 a.m., but all melted amid rising temperatures in the afternoon.

According to the state weather agency, an ascending atmospheric pressure trough, accompanied by cold air of minus 35 degrees Celsius, is currently winding strongly reverse clockwise at 5 kilometers in the sky in northeast regions of China. In the process, cold air encountered relatively warm wind in the Yellow Sea as it fast moved southward towards the Korean Peninsula to generate snow clouds. Notably, snow storm is believed to have been created as strong winds blew across Korea, with winds in Seoul reaching up to 6.3 meters per second on the day.

The country is forecast to have the coldest day of this winter on Tuesday, with morning lows falling to minus 2 degrees Celsius and daytime highs reaching only 4 degrees Celsius in Seoul. Weathermen say the cold spell will gradually recede from Friday afternoon.