[Anchor]
Tomorrow, August 7, is Ipchu, the traditional start of autumn, but the heat wave is forecast to reach its peak. There had been interest in whether an approaching typhoon might cool down the weather, but it is predicted to land in China instead, blocked by the North Pacific high-pressure system surrounding South Korea. Fortunately, the heat wave is expected to ease somewhat over the weekend.
Reporter Jeong Gu-hui has the details.
[Reporter]
Okinawa, Japan, has entered the direct influence zone of Typhoon Dolphin.
The typhoon is expected to pass north of Taiwan, land in southeastern China around next Monday, and then gradually weaken.
[Woo Jin-kyu / Forecaster, Korea Meteorological Administration: This Typhoon Dolphin will not affect South Korea. We expect that typhoon warnings will rarely be issued within South Korea's forecast area.]
Because the North Pacific high-pressure system—the main culprit behind South Korea's heat wave—is so strong, the typhoon has been unable to move toward South Korea and will not have a direct impact.
The time when the typhoon will come closest to Jeju Island, South Korea, is from early Saturday through Sunday. At that time, the distance to the typhoon will be 680 km, which is farther than the 450 km strong-wind radius.
Jeju Island will see some rain along with gusts of wind.
However, in the case of previous Typhoon Bavi, it left behind water vapor after dissipating in China, which then moved toward South Korea and brought rain. Therefore, Typhoon Dolphin must also be monitored until the very end.
Although there were some forecasts and reports that the typhoon would make the heat wave even worse, temperatures will actually drop starting Saturday, when the typhoon comes closest.
Currently, the biggest factor determining the wind direction in South Korea is not the typhoon, but the North Pacific high-pressure system.
Easterly winds are currently blowing from the edge of the North Pacific high-pressure system, and this wind direction will shift to northeastly as the North Pacific high-pressure system moves slightly further north.
Northeasterly winds bring in cold air from the north, and as this cold air collides with the humid and hot air settled over the Korean Peninsula, rain is forecast for the east coast areas of Gangwon and northern Gyeongsang over this weekend.
The east coast of Gangwon is expected to receive up to 120 mm of rain, a level that could trigger heavy rain advisories or warnings.
Seoul and other western regions are predicted to hit the peak of this heat wave tomorrow with a high of 39°C (102°F), before dropping to 35°C (95°F) on Saturday.
While the severe heat wave alerts may be lifted, extreme heat will only briefly recede, and sweltering weather with a perceived temperature of around 35°C (95°F)—equivalent to a heat wave warning level—will continue into next week.
(Video Editing: Kim Jun-hee, Design: Kim Min-young)
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