The nation will remain trapped in a cold wave on Thursday, with heavy snow forecast in the Seoul metropolitan area and the eastern province of Gangwon from the afternoon, the state weather agency said. The morning low dropped to minus 9 C in Seoul and 1 to 5 centimeters of snow will fall from the afternoon to the night for the first time this season, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). The agency forecast similar amounts of snow in other regions, including Incheon, Gyeonggi Province, Gangwon Province and the northern areas of North Chungcheong Province. Notably, the precipitation will reach 3 to 8 cm in the northern areas of Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces, it said, predicting around 1 cm of snow for some areas in southern provinces and Jeju and Ulleung islands until Friday morning. The cold wave advisory is still in effect in eastern and northern Gyeonggi Province and western Gangwon Province as of Thursday morning. The KMA said temperatures will again remain lower than average on Friday before rising to levels similar to or higher than average beginning Saturday.