By Park Si-soo
Torrential rain, coupled with strong winds, is expected to hit Jeju Island from Tuesday night as a typhoon is fast approaching the country’s southernmost island, the state weather agency said Monday.
The entire country is forecast to come under the influence of typhoon Dianmu with heavy rains expected nationwide from today, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). But the typhoon is expected to be downgraded to a tropical storm and is unlikely to cause floods or major damage, it said.
Dianmu, which means “the goddess governing thunder and lighting” in Chinese, is forecast to cross the peninsula by Thursday and move northwards.
Given the overall weather conditions, the typhoon is unlikely to get stronger, but is expected to drastically cool the current heatwave affecting the peninsula, according to the KMA.
“It still remains to be seen how strong the storm will be. We are taking a close look at its movements,” said Shin Ki-chang, a KMA spokesman.
The seasonal typhoon formed Sunday night in waters about 400 kilometers off Taiwan and is moving toward Korea at a speed of 27 kilometers per hour.
As of Monday 9 a.m., Dianmu with a radius of 200 kilometers has a center pressure at 990 hectopascals and a maximum wind speed of 24 meters per second. The weather office classifies it as “small.”
“Water temperatures on which it’s moving are around 28 degrees Celsius. But other conditions are not ideal for it to be enhanced further,” the spokesman said.
For up-to-date information, call 131 or visit the KMA website (web.kma.go.kr/eng).
The KMA issued a heat-wave warning in major cities in southern parts of the country, including Jeju, Busan, and Daejeon on Monday. The warning is issued when the midday high exceeds 33 degrees Celsius.
“Sporadic showers will cool it down in some regions, but the sizzling weather will continue until early September,” the KMA said in a release.