S. Korea to see winter’s coldest temperatures Thursday

Icicles can be seen hanging from a rope near Ttukseom Hangang Park in eastern Seoul Wednesday morning amid temperatures as low as minus 5 degrees Celsius. (Yonhap via The Korea Herald/Asia News Network)

With Thursday’s morning and daytime temperatures forecast to dip below freezing, South Korea will experience the coldest temperatures of this winter so far, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration on Wednesday.

According to the KMA, morning temperatures on Thursday will fall to minus 15 degrees Celsius in the central region, including Seoul and the surrounding areas, as well as in North Jeolla Province and North Gyeongsang Province. Other parts of Korea will experience morning temperatures drop to below minus 10 C, while some mountainous parts of Gangwon Province may see morning lows of minus 20 C.

The state weather agency added that the cold snap will continue throughout the day, with average daytime temperatures nationwide expected to hover between minus 10 C and 3 C. Strong winds of up to 55 kilometers per hour will make it feel colder than the actual temperatures.

READ: Heavy snow blankets S. Korea’s wider Seoul, eastern region; alert issued

In Seoul, Thursday morning temperatures are forecast to be the coldest this winter so far at minus 12 C, with a wind chill of about minus 17 C.

The KMA said it has issued a cold wave watch across Seoul, effective 9 p.m. Wednesday. It said the cold wave watch could be issued for other parts of the country on Thursday.

Following the alert, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said it will mobilize a round-the-clock emergency monitoring and management system.

READ: Seoul, South Korea hit by record snowfall

In Korea, a cold wave watch is issued when morning low temperatures are expected to remain at minus 12 C or lower for at least two consecutive days, or when the morning lows are expected to drop by more than 10 C from the previous day to below 3 C.

The KMA attributed the extreme cold wave to the polar vortex that has been lingering above the northern parts of Korea since Tuesday. As the polar vortex contains air from the Arctic, the northwesterly winds blowing into the Korean Peninsula are also extremely cold.

In addition to the cold weather, the KMA added that heavy snow is expected in South Chungcheong Province, North and South Jeolla Provinces and mountainous regions on Jeju Island from Wednesday night to Thursday.

With hourly snowfall expected to range between 3 and 5 centimeters, the KMA added that these regions could see accumulated snowfall of up to 40 cm. A heavy snow advisory, issued when snowfall is expected to surpass 5 cm within 24 hours, could also be announced in the four regions, it said.