Temperatures to nosedive as big freeze's wintery grip tightens

Temperatures will plummet across the country as a cold snap tightens its grip through Thursday. Tuesday’s morning lows will be between minus 18 and minus 4 degrees Celsius (-0.4 and 24.8 degrees Fahrenheit) nationwide.

A person in her winter puffer jacket stands in the road in central Seoul on Monday morning when the morning low fell below minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit). [YONHAP]

Temperatures will plummet across the country as a cold snap tightens its grip through Thursday.

Tuesday’s morning lows will be between minus 18 and minus 4 degrees Celsius (-0.4 and 24.8 degrees Fahrenheit) nationwide, even colder than Monday’s lows of between minus 11 and 0 degrees Celsius.

The temperature in Seoul was minus 8.6 degrees Celsius at 8 a.m. on Monday. Incheon was minus 9.1 degrees Celsius at the same time, while Gwangju and Daegu were minus 2.2 and minus 0.5 degrees Celsius, respectively.

Morning lows in the southern coastal cities of Ulsan and Busan were above freezing at 0.8 and 1.6 degrees Celsius, respectively.

On Monday, most parts of the country were expected to experience subzero temperatures even in the daytime. In central regions, the daytime high remained below minus 5 degrees Celsius.

The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) expects a morning low of minus 14 degrees Celsius in Seoul on Tuesday, 5 degrees lower than Monday.

On Tuesday, morning lows in Daegu and Daejeon will be around minus 9 to minus 10 degrees Celsius. Gwangju and Busan will see morning lows of minus 7 degrees Celsius, and even Jeju’s morning low will be 0 degrees Celsius.

Daytime highs on Tuesday will remain subfreezing nationwide, except in Jeju and southern coastal areas.

The KMA forecasted a daily high of around minus 8 to minus 6 degrees Celsius in the greater Seoul area on Tuesday.

Daily highs in the Chungcheong region will remain between minus 6 and minus 5 degrees Celsius. Gwangju and Daegu’s daily highs will be between minus 3 and minus 2 degrees Celsius.

Busan’s daily high will be 1 degree Celsius, and Jeju’s high will be 0 degrees Celsius.

Snow flurries fall in Seoul at dawn of Monday. [YONHAP]

Snow will fall in some parts of the country through Wednesday due to a cold northwesterly wind that picked up snow clouds as it crossed the relatively warm Yellow Sea.

According to the KMA, the greater Seoul area experienced between 1 and 3 centimeters (0.39 to 1.18 inches) of snowfall through noon Monday. Gangwon will see up to 5 centimeters of snow.

Regions near the Yellow Sea and Jeju Island will see a lot of snow, according to the KMA.

Inland areas of South Chungcheong will see between 2 and 7 centimeters of snow, while coastal parts of the province will see between 3 and 10 centimeters through Tuesday. North Chungcheong will experience less than 1 centimeter of snow.

Jeolla provinces will see between 5 and 15 centimeters of snow through Wednesday. The west part of North Jeolla will experience over 20 centimeters of snow.

Mountainous parts of Jeju could see up to 20 to 40 centimeters of snowfall on the ground through Wednesday. The midland and eastern parts of the island will see 10 to 20 centimeters of snowfall, while coastal areas could see 3 to 10 centimeters of snow.

With heavy snow advisories issued for the Chungcheong and Jeolla provinces, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety raised its four-tier alert status from the lowest level of “interest” to “caution” on Monday morning.

“The Ministry advises people to check out weather and traffic reports regularly and maintain cautionary safety measures to prevent them from facing winter weather hazards — such as reducing the speed of vehicles and getting equipped with winter supplies,” Minister Lee Sang-min said.

Lee also asked people to help deice snow-covered roads.

Strong wind advisories and warnings were issued for areas along the Yellow Sea, the southern coastal part of South Jeolla, and Jeju Island . Wind speeds in those areas could exceed 70 kilometers (43 miles) per hour.

The KMA warned that strong winds could strike even in parts of the country where wind advisories and warnings weren't issued, with gusts hitting 55 kilometers per hour.

The KMA advised people to avoid approaching seawalls and sea rocks due to the danger of big waves .

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]