Heavy rain is forecast to hit the southern parts of Korea on Wednesday morning and spread nationwide as typhoon Soulik heads for the country, the Korea Meteorological Administration said.

Partly cloudy skies will be seen in Seoul on Wednesday, but the city will see no rain until Thursday afternoon, the weather agency said.

Jeju Island and the southern coast of Korea’s mainland will receive up to 400 millimeters of rain from Wednesday through Thursday. 

Beginning Thursday, about 50 to 100 millimeters will fall in Seoul and Gyeonggi, Gangwon, South Chungcheong and North Jeolla provinces, while Gyeongsang and North Chungcheong provinces will receive 30 to 80 millimeters of rain.

The strong typhoon was located about 430 kilometers southeast of Jeju Island as of 3 a.m. Wednesday and traveling at 23 kilometers per hour. Soulik will affect Korea’s weather until Friday, the weather agency said.

Despite the rainfall, hot temperatures will persist throughout the country. Daytime highs for Wednesday should reach 35 degrees Celsius in Seoul, 34 C in Incheon, 36 C in Suwon, 31 C in Gangneung, 35 C in Cheongju, 35 C in Sejong, 35 C in Gwangju, 34 C in Daegu and 32 C in Busan. Tropical nights also will continue through Friday.

By Park Ju-young (jupark@heraldcorp.com)