제주 날씨- Weather on Jeju Island

Jeju Island has the mildest weather in Korea, allowing tourists to visit all-year-long. Jeju Island resides 33.6’North and 126.5’ East on the Earth. By being near the equator, Jeju has a subtropical oceanic climate and temperate climate. According to Wladimir Koppen’s classification of climate, Jeju Island maintains a mild winter with consistent precipitation.

Ocean Currents

The climate is also due in part to the Kuroshio (north-flowing ocean current on the west side of the North Pacific Ocean) and Tshushima (warm branch of the Kuroshio current) current; they have a direct effect on the island. The translation of Kuroshio is The Black Current and is a reference to the deep blue of its water. 

The ocean currents surrounding Japan and Korea: 1. Kuroshio Current 2. Kuroshio extension 3. Kuroshio countercurrent 4. Tsushima Current 5. Tsugaru Current 6. Sōya Current 7. Oyashio 8. Liman Current

Both of these currents are a part of the North Pacific Ocean gyre (giant, circular ocean currents that are driven by subtropical high pressure). By being surrounded by the ocean, the temperature range is quite small, yet Jeju Island displays four distinct season.

The four distinct seasons displayed on Jeju Island. 

Jeju Island in April

Springtime occurs in mid-February to April leading into the summer typhoon season in late June to early July. The figure below is a graph illustrating annual climate in Jeju Island. The left y-axis represents temperature (in Celsius), the right y-axis shows precipitation (mm) and x-axis represents months of the year.

As you can see from the figure above, the warmest and rainiest months on Jeju Island are June-September. Throughout April, the most common forms of precipitation are moderate rain and light rain. In April, the average high is 17.5 degrees Celsius (63.4 degrees Fahrenheit), with the average low being 10.2 degrees Celsius (50.4 degrees Fahrenheit).

References

http://weatherspark.com/averages/33274/Jeju-Jeju-do-South-Korea 

http://weatherspark.com/averages/33274/4/Jeju-Jeju-do-South-Korea

http://english.jeju.go.kr/index.php/contents/AboutJeju/intro/weather 

http://travel.cnn.com/explorations/play/10-things-do-jeju-island-045157

http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/korea/Jeju_Island

http://english.jeju.go.kr/index.php/contents/culture-nature/nature/geographical/climate