The heaviest snowfall for November in 117 years blanketed Seoul and the surrounding regions Wednesday, causing injuries, disrupting traffic, and cutting off power supplies. Authorities are on high alert for more snow later this week.
According to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), as of 3 p.m., the capital city had received 18 centimeters of snow, marking the biggest snowfall in November since modern weather observations began in 1907.
The new record coincided with the first snow of the season in Seoul. The previous record was 12.4 cm set on Nov. 28, 1972, the state weather agency said.
The city of Incheon, west of Seoul, also had record snowfall for November of 14.8 cm as of 3 p.m., beating the previous record of 8 cm set in 1972.
According to the KMA, Suwon, south of Seoul, received 21 cm of snow as of 3 p.m., the largest November precipitation ever.
Snow and rain are forecast nationwide until Thursday morning, though the precipitation will continue into the afternoon in parts of Gangwon Province and North Gyeongsang Province, and until late Friday night in the Chungcheong and Jeolla provinces, and on Jeju Island.
The interior ministry had upgraded the operations of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters to Level 2 and raised the heavy snow warning from “caution” to “alert.”
While standard measurements for the capital city are taken at the Seoul weather station in Jongno Ward, by district, Seongbuk Ward and Gangbuk Ward in the city’s north had received 20.6 cm and 20.4 cm of snow, respectively, as of 7 a.m. Wednesday.
According to the KMA and the Seoul metropolitan government, a heavy snow warning was issued in the northeastern districts of Seoul, including Nowon, Seongbuk, and Dobong. A warning is issued when snowfall reaches 20 cm within 24 hours.
