Seoul has recorded its first snowfall of the season, 26 days earlier than last year, as an early winter cold snap gripped the South Korean capital on Sunday.

The Korea Meteorological Administration said the season's first snow was observed at 10am at the Seoul Weather Station in Songwol-dong, in the central Jongno District. In Seoul, the first snow is officially recorded only when an observer at that station confirms it, even if nothing settles on the ground.

This year's first snow came 26 days earlier than last year's, which fell on 4 December, and 12 days earlier than the average first-snow date of 20 November, based on records from 1991 to 2020. It was the earliest first snowfall in the capital since 8 November 2010, and the sixth-earliest since 1973.

Snow pellets fell at the observatory between 9.20am and 10.40am, but accumulation measured zero. Seoul's morning low fell to 2.7 degrees Celsius, with temperatures below freezing in parts of the city, including minus 1.1 degrees in Nowon District and minus 0.6 degrees in Eunpyeong District. In Daegwallyeong, in Gangwon Province, the mercury dropped to minus 5.4 degrees.

The weather agency warned that rain or snow in north-eastern Gyeonggi and inland Gangwon could freeze into patches of black ice, and urged drivers to keep a safe distance and slow down. Light snow could settle in mountains at elevations of around 1,000 metres in north-eastern Gyeonggi, although the agency said precipitation was expected to be too light for snow to accumulate in most places.

The cold is expected to ease temporarily on Monday, when morning temperatures nationwide are forecast to be near or slightly above seasonal averages, before plunging again on Tuesday, when Seoul's morning low is forecast to fall to zero degrees.