Mid-March Snow Hits Korea

By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter

For a week, it was warm and spring-like.

Now, the weather seems to be reversing, becoming winter again. Gangwon Province is now deep in snow after a blizzard. Chilly weather and snow can't be ruled out for some time to come, according to weathermen.

It also started to snow in Seoul, Tuesday evening. More than 15 centimeters of snow is expected in the capital by this morning and the temperature is expected to drop to three degrees below zero Centigrade today.

Up to 35.7 centimeters of snow paralyzed major roads in the mountainous region, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). Gangneung, one of the biggest cities in the province, was covered by 32.5 centimeters snow.

Passage on major roads linking the region with neighboring provinces was either blocked or only accessible to vehicles equipped with proper safety equipment. The authorities imposed a ban on mountain climbing, resulting in a flurry of calls from hikers to cancel their room reservations.

Dozens of greenhouses collapsed from the snow piled on top them and many fishing boats were grounded.

"More snowfall is forecast for the province," a KMA spokesman said.

pss@koreatimes.co.kr

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