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Heavy snow expected in central region after ongoing cold spell

Published: 08 Jan. 2026, 11:29 Updated: 08 Jan. 2026, 11:33

People in heavy winter coats head to work at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul on Jan. 8. [YONHAP]

A cold snap gripped the nation Thursday, with temperatures dropping in Seoul to minus 8.2 degrees Celsius (17.2 degrees Fahrenheit), the state weather agency said, forecasting heavy snow in the central region over the weekend.

The sensible temperatures dipped to minus 13.2 degrees Celsius in the capital and minus 30 degrees Celsius in some mountainous areas of Gangwon Province in the morning, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).

The cold snap will only continue until Friday morning, but heavy snow is expected in the central region from that night through the weekend, the KMA said.

Snow is forecast to expand to the southern region Saturday morning, and snow or rain will begin falling on the southern Jeju Island beginning Saturday afternoon, it noted.

The expected snowfall until Saturday is 3 to 10 centimeters (1.2 to 3.9 inches) in Gangwon's inland and mountainous regions, 3 to 8 cm in eastern Gyeonggi Province, 2 to 7 cm in the Jeolla provinces, 1 to 5 cm in western Gyeonggi Province and the Chungcheong provinces, and 1 to 3 cm in Seoul and Incheon.

Snow or rain is expected to continue until Sunday in South Chungcheong, Jeolla and the western inland area of South Gyeongsang, the KMA said.

Afterward, snow or rain is expected to fall again in the central region and North Jeolla on Monday, it added.

Yonhap