Home > National > Environment

Strong winds, rain to greet morning commuters on Monday

Published: 03 May. 2026, 15:54 Updated: 03 May. 2026, 17:15

Pedestrians grab onto their umbrellas on a windy and rainy day in Busan on April 9. [NEWS1]

Commuters heading to work on Monday, the first workday of May, should brace for winds strong enough to knock them off their feet.

Rain in the capital area and other regions is expected to stop mostly by early morning, but winds strong enough to make an umbrella difficult to use will persist. At sea, waves as high as 4 meters (13.1 feet) are forecast, requiring caution for fishing operations.

Strong winds of up to 15 meters per second are expected nationwide on Monday, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said Sunday. Gusts are forecast to reach 55 kilometers (34 miles) per hour, a level that can make walking difficult and render umbrellas nearly unusable. Signs may sway, and lightweight objects, such as plastic, can blow away. In mountainous areas, even stronger gusts of up to 70 kilometers per hour are expected.

At sea, both strong winds and high waves will pose risks. A wind advisory issued Sunday morning for waters off eastern, southern and western Jeju Island was expanded in the afternoon to include the waters off the southwestern coast and offshore areas of the southern East Sea.

A wind and wave advisory is issued when the average wind speed at sea exceeds 14 meters per second for more than three hours or when significant wave heights are expected to exceed 3 meters. Significant wave height refers to the average height of the highest one-third of waves, meaning actual waves can be higher than the average.

The inclement weather is caused by a low-pressure system moving northward from the south, carrying large amounts of moisture, according to the KMA. As the system developed upward air currents, clouds formed and combined with a trough in the upper atmosphere, intensifying both rainfall and winds.

The bad weather is expected to continue through Monday. Wind advisories are forecast to remain in effect for the South Sea until Monday morning and for the East Sea until late Monday afternoon.

“From early Monday morning, winds over the Yellow Sea and most of the East Sea, except waters off Ulsan, will blow very strongly at 30 to 60 kilometers per hour, and waves will be very high at 1.5 to 4 meters, about 4.9 to 13.1 feet,” a KMA official said. “Please be cautious of marine safety accidents and fishing operations.”

A pedestrian grabs onto their umbrella on a windy and rainy day in Busan on April 9. [NEWS1]

Early-morning commuters should prepare for rain. Rain is forecast in the capital area, South Chungcheong and the Jeolla regions from Sunday midnight to 6 a.m. Monday. It is expected to continue until noon in North Chungcheong and until as late as 3 p.m. in Gangwon and northern North Gyeongsang.

In mountainous areas of Gangwon above 1,000 meters, 1 to 3 centimeters (0.4 to 1.2 inches) of snow is also forecast.

“In central regions, there may be thunder and lightning along with strong gusts early in the morning, so please be cautious of safety accidents,” the official said.

Temperatures will also fall below seasonal averages due to the rain and wind. The daytime high on Monday is expected to range from 16 to 21 degrees Celsius (60.8 to 69.8 degrees Fahrenheit), about 3 to 4 degrees lower than the seasonal average of 19.9 to 25.1 degrees Celsius.

However, skies are expected to clear on Children’s Day on Tuesday, with temperatures rising again. Daytime highs are forecast to range from 19 to 24 degrees Celsius.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HEO JEONG-WON [[email protected]]