On Thursday the 25th, Christmas Day, a cold snap will drop temperatures below freezing across most of the country, and it will be difficult to expect a "white Christmas" in inland areas including the capital region.
According to the Korea meteorological Administration on the 24th, the country will be mostly clear, but morning temperatures will plunge more than 5 degrees from the previous day due to cold air moving in from the north. Morning lows will range from -9 to 3 degrees, and daytime highs will range from -3 to 8 degrees, with strong winds likely to make it feel even colder.
However, some areas, including the west coast of South Chungcheong, the western Jeolla region, and Jeju Island, will see snow or rain from the afternoon. Heavy snowfall of up to more than 15 centimeters is forecast in the mountainous areas of Jeju Island, and 10 to 30 centimeters of heavy snow is expected to accumulate on Ulleung Island and Dokdo, requiring caution for facility management and traffic safety.
Light precipitation is also forecast in some inland areas. On the northern Gangwon east coast, between early morning and morning, and in Sejong, northern inland South Chungcheong, and central and southern North Chungcheong at night, some places will see around 1 centimeter of snow or less than 5 millimeters of rain. Most other parts of the country will have mostly clear weather with passing clouds.
Waves are expected to be high across all seas. Significant wave heights will build to as high as 5.0 meters in the far East Sea and West Sea, and strong waves of 1.0 to 3.5 meters are expected even nearshore, so vessels sailing or operating should exercise particular caution.
Fine dust levels will remain from "good" to "moderate" nationwide as clean northwesterly airflow moves in, keeping air quality clean. The Korea meteorological Administration asked people to prepare for the cold, such as managing health and preventing frozen water pipes, as the Christmas cold is expected to continue for the time being.