The past month has been hot in Korea, I mean really hot:
Seoul, Busan and many other parts of the country have been breaking records for the longest streak of consecutive tropical nights, with Seoul having 28 such nights as of Sunday, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).
As the intense heat is forecast to persist for the time being despite forecasts of heavy rain across the country early this week, the regions are expected to continue setting new records every day.
The KMA said Seoul’s lowest temperature from Saturday night to Sunday morning was 27 degrees Celsius, marking the 28th consecutive tropical night since July 21.
Hopefully everyone living on the southern tip of the Korean peninsula is keeping safe:
Heavy rains triggered landslides and flash floods in the Korean Peninsula’s southern regions, Wednesday, leaving at least six people dead and two missing, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) and regional fire headquarters.
Record-level downpours — up to nearly 150 millimeters in an hour — pounded the provinces of Chungcheong, Jeolla and Gyeongsang, causing casualties and property damage.
A man in Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province, was found dead inside an elevator at a residential building after apparently being trapped there.
Typhoon Khanun to land on S. Korea’s southeast coast this week An employee points to the current position of Typhoon Khanun on an electronic board at the Korea Meteorological Administration in Seoul on Aug. 7, 2023. The sixth typhoon of the season is forecast to land on South Korea’s southeastern coast on Aug. 10. (Yonhap)
Here is an update on the typhoon that will soon make landfall on South Korea:
A woman looks at high waves at a beach in Gangneung, 163 kilometers east of Seoul, on Aug. 8, 2023, as Typhoon Khanun is forecast to hit the country’s southeastern region two days later. (Yonhap)
Typhoon Khanun is expected to make landfall on South Korea’s southern coast this week and proceed northward to North Korea, putting the entire country under its influence and dumping heavy rains nationwide, the weather agency said Tuesday.
Khanun, which was moving northward from waters 300 kilometers south of Japan’s Kagoshima as of 9 a.m., is expected to reach 30 km west of the southern coastal city of Tongyeong at 9 a.m. Thursday to make landfall in South Korea, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said.
The typhoon may head further north to pass South Korea by early Friday morning and reach 70 km northeast of North Korea’s capital Pyongyang at 9 a.m. Friday, the agency said.
You can read more at the link, but the storm is not particularly strong with 126 kilometer per hour winds, but as we have seen earlier this summer, flooding from the rain will likely be the most deadly part of this storm.
South Korea is getting hits by its coldest weather yet this winter:
Hikers walk on a floating bridge across the frozen Hantan River in Cheolwon County, Gangwon Province, on Jan. 19, 2023. (Yonhap)
Cold wave alerts will be issued for most parts of the country Monday as the capital and central parts of the nation came under the grip of the season’s coldest weather.
The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said the cold wave warning will take effect for all of Seoul at 9 p.m.
The cold wave warning is issued when the morning low is below minus 15 C for more than two consecutive days, or when the temperature drops sharply and major damage is expected.
The warning will be also issued for many areas in Incheon, 27 kilometers west of Seoul, and the provinces of Gyeonggi, Gangwon, Chungcheong and North Jeolla at the same time.
It is going to be an upcoming week of poor weather across Japan and southern areas of South Korea:
Typhoon Nanmadol, currently passing the waters east of Japan’s Okinawa, is expected to grow stronger Saturday before coming closer to South Korea in the next couple of days, the state weather agency said.
With a central atmospheric pressure of 920 hectopascals and a maximum wind speed of 53 meters per second, this year’s 14th typhoon was passing waters 520 kilometers east of Okinawa at 9 a.m., according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).
Nanmadol, currently a “very strong” typhoon, was forecast to develop into a “super strong” one later in the day.
It looks like South Korea got very lucky by not getting hit by the worse of Typhoon Hinnamnor:
Waves hit a seawall in Busan on Sept. 6, as the super strong Typhoon Hinnamnor approaches the Korean Peninsula. Yonhap
Super Typhoon Hinnamnor made landfall on Korea’s Geoje early Tuesday morning, possibly becoming the most powerful storm ever to hit the country.
The typhoon, the 11th this year, made landfall at the southeastern city of Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province at 4:50 a.m., according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). Geoje city is made up of a number of islands, of which by far the largest is Geoje Island.
The strength of the typhoon when it hit Geoje was not immediately available, but the KMA said the typhoon was classified “very strong” when it passed through the southern island of Jeju at around midnight with an atmospheric pressure of 945 hectopascals (hPa) at its center and maximum wind speed of 45 kilometers per second.
“Hinnamnor is a very big typhoon with a radius of 400 kilometers, and can carry strong winds and heavy rainfall almost all across the country,” Han Sang-un, the chief forecaster at the KMA, told a press briefing, urging to minimize possible casualties.
You can read more at the link, but Ulleungdo is the next possible Korean location this typhoon might strike. Hopefully the cooler waters of the East Sea get this typhoon to die down a bit.
For people in the southern part of the Korean peninsula a massive storm is heading their way. Hopefully everyone takes proper precautions:
This map provided by the Korea Meteorological Administration shows an expected route of Typhoon Hinnamnor as of 4 p.m. on Sept. 1, 2022. (Yonhap)
A super strong typhoon is approaching the Korean Peninsula, and southern parts of the country, including Jeju Island, may come under its direct influence early next week, the state weather agency said Thursday.
Typhoon Hinnamnor is believed to have passed over the sea 550 kilometers southeast of Taipei, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said.
The 11th typhoon of this year is forecast to start moving northward Friday and reach the sea 430 km south-southwest of Seogwipo on Jeju Island on Monday afternoon.
Some early cold this year for everyone living in South Korea:
Frost forms on tree leaves on Mount Halla on the southern resort island of Jeju as the mercury drops to near zero in the region. (Yonhap)
Temperatures in Seoul sharply dropped to nearly 1 degree Celsius on Sunday, marking the coldest morning for mid-October in 64 years, the state weather agency said.
The morning low in Seoul came to 1.3 C in the day, the lowest since Oct. 19, 1957, when the figure was minus 0.4 C, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).
Some areas of the capital city saw the mercury drop below zero, and the season’s first ice was seen in the city, 17 days earlier than average, it added.
Cold weather also hit other parts of the country, with temperatures on average nationwide falling more than 10 C from a day earlier.
Temperatures on Mount Seorak in Gangwon Province plunged to minus 9.3 C in the mornning, and the border county of Yeoncheon saw its mercury dive to minus 3.9 C, the agency said, adding that first ice and frost were witnessed across the country.
