[New Square 10] "Snow bomb" from the first snow...It's going to rain more tomorrow.

■ Host: Park Seok-won Anchor
■ Video Broadcast: Kim Seung-bae, Director of the Korea Natural Disaster Association

* The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information. Please specify [YTN New Square 10AM] when quoting.

[Anchor]
With a large amount of snow falling from the first snow this winter, up to 20cm more snow is expected by tomorrow. Let's take a closer look at the weather. Kim Seung-bae is connected to the head of the Korea Natural Disaster Association. You're out, right?

[Kim Seungbae]
How are you?

[Anchor]
There was a forecast that the first snow would come, but I'm sure many people were surprised on their way to work in the morning. How much did it fall?

[Kim Seungbae]
I was also surprised by the considerable amount for the first snow. It usually falls to the point where it is hard to tell whether the first snow has snowed or not, but this time, the warm weather has continued, proving that there was a lot of water vapor in the upper layers of the Korean Peninsula. Recently, the temperature of seawater in the Northwest Pacific Ocean, then the Indian Ocean, and the Atlantic Ocean, that is, the entire world, is higher than usual. Therefore, cold air did not come down often from the north due to the power of warm seawater in the south of Korea, but this time, warm air and cold air collided, so it fell nearly 20cm in Seoul, which is quite a lot for the first snow.

[Anchor]
The more serious concern is that it could come as much as it came tonight.

[Kim Seungbae]
That's right. The meteorological cause of yesterday's rain or snow was the low pressure passing north. But if this low pressure goes out, the rain and snow will stop today. But again, cold air pushes down from the north where the low pressure has been removed. Then, as you pass over the warm sea, the cold air called the lake effect passes over the warm sea, and snow clouds are formed. With this snow cloud, there is a possibility that about 20cm more will fall around tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and the west coast.

[Anchor]
One of the characteristics of this time is wet snow. What's wrong with this?

[Kim Seungbae]
That's how warm the atmosphere is. We'll have dry eyes, construction. Moist snow is called wet snow. It's a habit to have eyes that are easily lumped together. Construction falls when the temperature near the ground is very cold, below minus 10 degrees Celsius, and when the temperature is between 0 and minus 10 degrees Celsius like this, it is near the ground. It's very heavy when there's a wet snow. It is about two to three times heavier than construction. On the night of February 17, 2014, 214 students from Busan University of Foreign Studies had an orientation ahead of the new semester at Mauna Resort in Gyeongju, where 10 people died, so there was an accident where the roof collapsed due to a lot of wet snow accumulating on the roof, which is as heavy as this.

[Anchor]
So, what should I do if it's a snow lull for a while or if it doesn't snow when it's raining now?

[Kim Seungbae]
If this practice falls more than 25cm, the greenhouse will surely collapse. So, when the snow stops like this, remove the snow on the greenhouse quickly, and if it falls a lot, it is necessary to reduce the weight of the snow to the extent that the snow on the roof is possible.

[Anchor]
The characteristics of this snow are wet snow, and one of the other characteristics was accompanied by strong winds. Is there a possibility of wet snow with strong winds tonight as well?

[Kim Seungbae]
That's right. So this low pressure escapes and the high pressure expands and descends from the east, and the difference in air pressure between the northwest and the southeast widens. Then, as the difference in air pressure widens, it appears as a strong wind, so tonight and tomorrow will have a strong cold wind in our country. When such strong winds blow, of course, the waves will rise high, and those on the coast should be extra careful of the high waves. That's why strong winds, cold, cold waves, and a lot of snow appear in combination. The reason for this is the phenomenon that occurs when a fairly strong chill comes down from the north while staying warm.

[Anchor]
I asked you about various characteristics, but it is humid and accompanied by strong winds, and one of the unusual characteristics is that before it snows, there was a very strong hail in Gangwon Province. What's wrong with this?

[Kim Seungbae]
That's why the atmosphere is so unstable. It's warm near the ground, but the cold came down first toward Gangwon-do in the north. So, there was cold air on the upper floor and it was warm near the ground, so it was possible to overturn, thunder, lightning, and hail. Until today, this phenomenon is expected to occur in the southern part of the country, with thunder and lightning. This is because the cold air from the upper floor, a very strong chill of about minus 30 degrees Celsius, came down to our country.

[Anchor]
Didn't it rain yesterday, hail fell in some places, and it snowed quite a lot overnight? Which areas should I be a little more careful?

[Kim Seungbae]
Until now, it has fallen a lot in central Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Gangwon-do, but as I said earlier, the pressure trough gradually falls to the east, and then the weather phenomenon that caused rain or snow yesterday and today will move away from Korea. Instead, cold air comes down from the north. Then, the snow clouds created on the warm sea I mentioned earlier provide a meteorological cause for heavy snow on the west coast. Therefore, in the future, there is a high possibility of a lot of snow on the west coast, that is, on the west coast of Chungnam and Jeolla-do.

[Anchor]
Those in the west coast area should be especially careful. To break the news for a moment, I heard that Korail, the Korea Railroad Corporation, operated 13 additional temporary trains in the Seoul metropolitan area due to heavy snow. Korail announced today that it has operated additional metropolitan subway trains to ease congestion during rush hour and for citizens' convenience following the effectuation of the heavy snow warning in Seoul and the metropolitan area. It was very crowded during the rush hour today. I guess I have to say that it could be this crowded during the rush hour tomorrow, right?

[Kim Seungbae]
It's going to be a little less than today. That's how prepared you are. As I said earlier, when there is so much heavy snow, of course, traffic chaos occurs in large cities such as Seoul. We have also increased the number of subway services, so you should use public transportation as much as possible. For your information, I asked where I should be careful in the future, but 40cm of snow fell on the west coast in the winter of 2022 due to meteorological reasons, causing major damage such as Gunsan.

It is not expected to fall that much this time, but there is a possibility of about 20cm more than the current one, so the west coast should be particularly careful, and the sea must be safe in the midst of this loud weather phenomenon caused by the first snow.

[Anchor]
A few days ago, I saw the forsythia blooming in winter, but suddenly it was the first snow, and there were unexpected things. It is said that this winter, it will be warm for a while, and then snow or cold for a while, and then the roller coaster weather will continue like this, so how do you forecast it?

[Kim Seungbae]
That's right. When I appeared on the show last October, I heard this winter was very cold. I asked this question, but the fact is, we won't know by then, and the Korea Meteorological Administration recently announced the weather forecast for this winter in November, December, and January for three months. It doesn't look like there's going to be a cold in a century or a very strong cold. The reason is that the temperature of seawater is very high. This is related to global warming, because the air in the atmosphere surrounding the Earth warms, so does the temperature of seawater in contact with the atmosphere. When seawater warms, it releases large amounts of water vapor from the ocean into the atmosphere. When this water vapor is released, the northwest Pacific around the Korean Peninsula develops, so it will not be such a cold winter that has not been experienced.

So, in December and January, the cold of winter in Korea is usually expected to come, and in February, the end of winter, it is higher than usual. So, after November, December, and January, this winter also had a higher-than-normal winter in the aftermath of global warming, it will be analyzed like this. But it's not always warm. A stronger chill than this time is expected to come down from the north. At that time, the temperature is expected to drop sharply and there is a possibility of heavy snow on the west coast.

[Anchor]
You predicted that it would be a fickle winter rather than a strong winter, but didn't you say that the strong winds were very strong last night? What are some areas of concern, or areas of concern, for the damage caused by strong winds?

[Kim Seungbae]
Areas with stronger winds are coastal areas adjacent to the sea. So, since the sea has no mountains, the first place we meet is the beach after coming down with the power that is there without being blocked. So, strong winds are feared on the west coast from Incheon to Mokpo, and then on the mountainous side of Gangwon-do, even if the same low pressure passes, the wind gathers to one side due to the mountain effect. Then stronger winds can blow in any area. Overall, the deployment of air pressure is in the form of a strong chill coming down on our country, so the coastal area is stronger, but it is a weather condition that can blow strong winds across the country.

[Anchor]
Finally, wasn't it confusing this morning because of the unexpected heavy snow? It is expected to snow as much as possible tomorrow, so please tell me in detail if there is anything I need to prepare right now or anything I need to prepare.

[Kim Seungbae]
As far as I remember, 49cm of snow fell on the highway near Daejeon in March, causing major traffic chaos. The damage caused by snow is the collapse of greenhouses and roof collapses due to wet snow, but when the snow on the roof falls and melts, it becomes an icicle. Accidents can occur due to icicles. You have to be careful about things like this, too. If there is weather information about heavy snow, you should not bring your car with you as much as possible. It's because there's a traffic jam. We need to use public transportation. In addition, by occasionally sweeping the greenhouse to prevent it from collapsing, and preparing for this, in the end, accidents caused by sliding and collapse are damage caused by snow, so I think you can prepare for it in common sense.

[Anchor]
Not only local governments but also residents seem to need special attention to prevent damage. So far, I have been with Kim Seung-bae, the head of the Korea Natural Disaster Association. Thank you.

[Kim Seungbae]
Thank you.