High humidity meets dry air to feed extreme downpour: weather agency
Paddy fields in Haenam County, South Jeolla Province, are flooded, Sunday. YonhapChungcheong, Jeju forecast to see up to 300 mm through WednesdayBy Ko Dong-hwanA seasonal stationary front is formed above the Korean Peninsula between the North Pacific High, bottom right, and the Tibetan anticyclone, top left, and low atmospheric pressure in this graphic image by the Korea Meteorological Administration released Monday.An intensified stationary front jointly fed by high humidity from the south and dry air from the north has generated the severe downpours that have so far left 50 people dead or missing and caused landslides and flash floods over the weekend, according to the country's top weather watchdog, Monday. High humidity from the North Pacific High, a semi-permanent subtropical anticyclone, moved up from the country's south and met a cool, dry air current that penetrated south between low atmospheric pressure and the Tibetan anticyclone.That collision of weather systems has activated more rigorously the stationary front that forms every summer over the country for weeks triggering
Jul 17, 2023By Ko Dong-hwan