Wintry weather arrived in full force in South Korea. In the last week of November 2024, a storm brought record-breaking accumulations of snow to Seoul. The heavy snow disrupted travel and damaged structures in the nation’s capital and surrounding areas.
On the morning of November 27, residents of Seoul awoke to 16.5 centimeters (6.5 inches) of new snow. That amount already surpassed the previous daily snowfall record for Seoul in November since records began in 1907, according to news reports. A storm in 1972 brought 12.4 centimeters (4.9 inches) to the city, the Korea Meteorological Administration told news outlets.
Yet the snow kept flying. By the morning of November 28, the weather agency reported accumulations of 28.6 centimeters (11.3 inches) in Seoul and 43 centimeters (17 inches) in Suwon, a city about 35 kilometers (22 miles) to the south. When clouds cleared the following day, the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image, revealing a broad coating of white across the Korean Peninsula.
An influx of cold air from the north had moved over the relatively warm Yellow Sea, causing heavy snowfall to form in the region, according to news reports. The temperature difference between the air and the sea surface was more profound than normal due to unusual warmth in recent weeks, officials said, which may have factored into the storm’s intensity.
Those who braved the weather around Seoul witnessed landmarks transformed into a winter wonderland. However, the storm grounded hundreds of flights across the country, kept dozens of ferries in port, and snarled traffic. The weight of the snow also toppled trees and damaged greenhouses and other agricultural facilities in areas surrounding Seoul, according to reports.
References & Resources
- Korea Meteorological Administration (2024, November 27) Current Weather of Korea: Snow accumulation. Accessed December 2, 2024.
- The Korea Times (2024, December 2) Heavy snow in late November damages 359 hectares of agricultural facilities. Accessed December 2, 2024.
- The New York Times (2024, November 27) Record Snowfall Hurls Seoul Into Winter. Accessed December 2, 2024.
- Phys.org (2024, November 27) South Korean capital hit by record November snowfall: weather agency. Accessed December 2, 2024.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Michala Garrison, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview . Story by Lindsey Doermann .
